- An Amazon manager was sentenced to 16 years in jail for running a fraud worth close to $10 million.
- Kayricka Wortham created fake vendors and invoices, with funds sent to bank accounts she controlled.
A former Amazon manager has been jailed for 16 years after running a $9.4 million fraud ring while working at the online retail giant.
Kayricka Wortham, worked as an operations manager at an Amazon warehouse in Smyrna, Georgia between August 2020 and March 2022. She used her position to create fake vendors, passing them on to unknowing subordinates to process, per the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
She would then make fake invoices for these vendors linked to bank accounts that she and her accomplices controlled.
Wortham conspired with Brittany Hudson, whom she was dating, during the scheme. Hudson ran Legend Express LLC, which was contracted with Amazon to deliver packages to customers, per the US Attorney's Office.
The couple used the proceeds of these fictitious invoices to make purchases including a $1 million home in Smyrna, a Lamborghini Urus, Dodge Durango, and a Tesla Model X.
Wortham also worked with other employees at Amazon, including one working in loss prevention and a senior human resources manager, to execute her scheme, the US Attorney's office said.
The two workers provided Wortham with additional names and social security numbers to create more fake vendor accounts.
She faced further fraud charges for fabricating court documents to close a deal with CRUS Franchising Company to franchise a hookah lounge in Atlanta.
Wortham, 32, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay Amazon almost $9.5 million in restitution.
Wortham represented herself in court, according to court documents seen by The New York Times. Nick Lotito, a lawyer who served as standby counsel for her, told the Times the punishment was "greater than necessary."
The home and cars bought by Wortham have already been seized, along with $2.7 million in cash from multiple bank accounts.
"This individual stole millions from a business that employed her – exploiting not only their trust, but our nation's financial systems," said the US Secret Service's Steven R. Baisel in a statement.
"Thanks to the hard work of our partners in the US Attorney's office, her sentence reflects the seriousness of her crimes and sends a message that this kind of fraudulent activity will not be tolerated."
US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said Wortham also committed "new crimes while on bond, even creating a fake dismissal document purporting to be from the court and that included the forged signature of the Chief US District Judge, all for the purpose of misleading a franchising company about the status of her criminal charges."
Charges are pending against Hudson and two other individuals. Three other dedendants pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and misprision of a felony charges and will be sentenced at a later date.