The U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern Department of Georgia has sentenced Kayricka Wortham, a former operations manager of Amazon.com, to a 16-year prison term for orchestrating a significant fraud scheme that cost the corporation over $9.4 million. Wortham, along with several other individuals, faced charges related to the theft in Georgia.
Kayricka Wortham Misused Her Position
Wortham, 32, worked as the operations manager at an Amazon facility in Georgia from August 2020 until March 2022. She oversaw staff members in her position and had the power to give the company approval for new vendors and vendor invoices. Wortham made use of her position to create a plan to submit over $10 million in bills for fictitious suppliers. This ultimately resulted in Amazon paying her and her collaborators $9.4 million.
According to the press release, Wortham deceived her employees into deliberately entering fictitious vendor data into the system. After entering the data, Wortham gave the bogus vendors approval so they could send bills. Then Wortham and her accomplices falsified invoices. Then sent them to Amazon, saying that the suppliers had given the corporation goods and services. Wortham enabled the transfer of millions of dollars in illegal revenues to bank accounts under her and her colleagues’ control by authorizing these invoices.
Wortham’s partner Brittany Hudson and Amazon employees Demetrius Hines and Laquettia Blanchard, who worked in loss prevention and human resources, respectively, were also a part of the plot. Hines bought the stolen personal data from JaQuan Frazier, who got it from Darrel J. Burgo, according to allegations. According to the press statement, Hines hired Jamar L. James, Sr., another operations manager, into the scam, and Blanchard and Hines were paid with fake proceeds.
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Crimes while Wortham and Hudson were on Bail
Wortham and Hudson were initially arrested, and while out on bail, they committed fresh crimes. That resulted in the termination of their bonds. With the help of CRU Franchising Company, the two attempted to launch a hookah bar in Atlanta, Georgia, in January 2023. They made up information that the charges against them for Amazon fraud had been dropped in order to close the sale. Wortham and Hudson then forwarded manufactured court documents to CRU Franchising Company through email. These documents featured fake seals and signatures from the Clerk of the Court as well as fraudulent signatures from Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr. Hudson is also accused of providing fabricated personal financial and bank statements. It boosted the amounts on her accounts, supporting the fraudulent transaction.
A Web of Lies Unraveled
On November 30, 2022, Wortham entered a guilty plea to the fraud charges, and he was later found guilty. She received a 16-year prison term. She was also ordered to pay $9,469,731.45 in recompense to Amazon. Wortham is also charged with defrauding CRU Franchising Company and fabricating a federal judge’s signature and court seal.
Additionally, Hines, Blanchard, and Frazier entered guilty pleas for a number of offenses associated with the fraud scheme. The three defendants are awaiting punishment. Hudson and James are accused of conspiring, committing wire fraud, and money laundering. Hudson is also accused of faking a federal judge’s signature and the court’s seal. Burgo has been charged with conspiracy, access device fraud, and severe identity theft because he participated in the selling of stolen personal information.
The conviction of Kayricka Wortham serves as a reminder of the serious penalties that anyone who commits fraud must endure. Amazon and other businesses are enhancing their security protocols in an effort to stop such disasters from happening again.
