A woman from Atlanta has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for stealing more than $9.4 million from Amazon while employed as a manager for the company.
Mastermind of $10 million Amazon fraud scheme sentenced to 16 years in federal prison https://t.co/Tz0a7laPtb @NDGAnews @SecretService
— US Attorney NDGA (@NDGAnews) July 5, 2023
Kayricka Wortham, also known as “Kayricka Dupree” and “Kayricka Young,” 32, abused her position at Amazon to submit more than $10 million in fictitious invoices for fake vendors, causing Amazon to pay her and her co-conspirators approximately $9.4 million, according to the Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office.
While serving as an operations manager at the Amazon Warehouse in Smyrna from 2020-2022, Wortham “supervised others and acted with the authority to approve both new vendors and the payment of vendor invoices for Amazon.”
Worthman also conspired with other Amazon employees and business owners that contracted with Amazon to submit millions in fictitious invoices for fake vendors to Amazon. The U.S. Attorney’s Office notes that Worthman is one of seven who have been charged in connection with the scheme so far.
Wortham was convicted of the Amazon fraud charges on November 30, 2022, after she pleaded guilty. However, while on bond, she committed new criminal conduct that resulted in the revocation of her bond, according to additional information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In January 2023, Wortham and one of her co-conspirators worked with CRU Franchising Company to open a hookah lounge in Midtown Atlanta. When confronted about the Amazon fraud charges against them, Wortham and her co-conspirator allegedly said that the criminal charges were dismissed and proceeded to email fraudulent court documents to CRU that purported to show the dismissal of the charges and contained forged signatures of Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. and forged seals and signatures of the Clerk of the Court.
In addition to her 16-year federal prison sentence, Wortham was also ordered to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution to Amazon in the amount of $9,469,731.45, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Regarding her criminal activity while on bond, Wortham has been indicted for defrauding CRU and forging the signature of a federal judge and seal of the court, with pending charges.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.
Photo “Amazon Warehouse” by Tedder. CC BY-SA 4.0.
