Amazon buyer faces up to 20 years in prison for $ 290,000 fraud. Prosecutors say he bought Apple, Asus and Fuji products, then sent cheaper items back.

• An Amazon buyer pleaded guilty to more than $ 290,000 in fraud for sending bogus returns.

• Prosecutors said Hudson Hamrick of North Carolina bought big ticket items and then returned cheap items.

• Amazon noticed the fraudulent returns, which began in 2016, and referred the matter to the FBI.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

An Amazon buyer who for five years bought big-ticket items – including a high-end iMac Pro – then sent in cheaper items because returns risk up to 20 years in jail for wire fraud, said the prosecutors.

Hudson Hamrick, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, according to a court record.

The Justice Department also released a statement Tuesday that Hamrick faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000.

Hamrick’s public defender did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

U.S. lawyers filed a lawsuit against Hamrick in September, claiming he had engaged in around 300 fraudulent transactions with Amazon. This included around 270 product returns – some 250 of which were “of significantly different value” – which amounted to more than $ 290,000 in total fraud, the indictment said and another which detailed several transactions in connection. of Hamrick’s plea deal.

Many transactions followed a simple pattern, prosecutors said: Hamrick would order an expensive item, initiate a return, and then ship a similar item – but of lesser value. Sometimes he would also sell the expensive item, earning him both return and resale value, prosecutors said.

In August 2019, for example, Hamrick ordered an Apple iMac Pro for $ 4,256.85, U.S. attorneys said. After about two weeks, Hamrick began the return process with Amazon, who then issued a refund.

“Instead of returning the high-end iMac Pro, Hamrick returned a much older, less valuable non-Pro model with a completely different serial number,” said a court document filed by U.S. lawyer Maria K. Vento. assistant.

The story continues

A week before Hamrick launched his comeback on Amazon, he sold an iMac Pro on eBay, Vento said.

Prosecutors said the items Hamrick ordered included a Jura GIGA W3 Professional coffee machine for $ 3,536.46; an Asus ROG Zephyrus gaming laptop for $ 2,776.52; and a Fuji Spray System for $ 1,227.31. Each time, he returned a lower value item or an older model, prosecutors said.

An Amazon spokesperson told Insider that the tech giant discovered the alleged fraud and referred the matter to law enforcement. He worked with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office in North Carolina.

“Amazon has systems in place to detect suspicious behavior and teams in place to investigate and stop prohibited activities,” the spokesperson said. “There is no room for fraud at Amazon, and we will continue to take all measures to hold the wrong players accountable.”

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