Customer scams Amazon out of RM1.74mil in return scheme using phone chargers, US feds say

An Amazon customer scammed the company out of at least US$372,359 (RM1.74mil) in a refund scam that involved sending back cheap or broken items, authorities said.

The Wisconsin man is accused of running the scheme between 2017 and 2020 by ordering “expensive items” on Amazon and then initiating a return, according to a Nov 7 news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.

His purchases included WiFi routers and Ethernet switches, according to court records. But after requesting returns – often saying the “items arrived too late” – the customer instead returned “materially different items”, including cellphone charging cables, authorities said.

He kept the original purchase items and the full refund amounts, authorities said.

Now, the 27-year-old man from La Valle has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay US$372,359 (RM1.74mil) in restitution, court records show. He previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

His defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Nov 8.

The man is responsible for more than 3,485 fraudulent Amazon transactions, according to the release.

In one example from March 2020, authorities said the man bought two Ethernet switches for US$248.96 (RM1,166.13).

The items were shipped to him the next day, according to the man’s signed plea agreement. But one day later, the man initiated a return and wrongly said he shipped both Ethernet switches back, authorities said.

He then received a full refund of US$248.96 (RM1,166.13) the next day, according to the plea agreement.

Authorities said the man also failed to report income from the scheme in his 2020 tax return.

During the man’s sentencing hearing, Chief US District Judge James D. Peterson said this kind of scam would typically lead to a prison sentence, according to the release.

“However, Judge Peterson noted that it was a mitigating circumstance that (the man) has a long history of suffering from mental illness, including the time period he committed the fraud against Amazon,” authorities said.

“Judge Peterson also noted that Wink turned his life around once he committed to mental health treatment in 2021. Judge Peterson concluded that a sentence of five years of probation would allow Wink to continue effectively managing his mental health needs.”

McClatchy News requested comment from Amazon on Nov 8 and was awaiting a response.

La Valle is about 65 miles northwest of Madison. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service