Georgia Amazon manager sentenced to 16 years for stealing $9.4 million

A former Amazon.com manager has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after stealing over $9.4 million from the company while working there.

Kayricka Wortham, along with six other people, have been charged in connection with the stealing of the money in Georgia, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern Department of Georgia press release.

Wortham, 32, worked as an operations manager at an Amazon Warehouse in Georgia from August 2020 to March 2022, where she supervised other workers and approved new vendors as well as the payment of vendor invoices for the company.

The release states that Wortham used her job to submit over $10 million in invoices for fake vendors, leading Amazon to pay her and the other people involved $9.4 million. The release also states that Wortham had her employees add the fake vendor information into the system unknowingly.

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“Once the information was entered, Wortham approved the fake vendors, enabling them to submit invoices. Wortham and co-conspirators then submitted fictitious invoices to Amazon, falsely representing that the vendors had provided goods and services to Amazon. Wortham approved the invoices, causing Amazon to transfer millions in fraudulent proceeds to bank accounts controlled by her and her co-conspirators,” the release states.

Officials say that Wortham worked with other people, including her partner Brittany Hudson, 37, in the scheme to submit fake invoices to Amazon. She also worked with Demetrius Hines, who worked in loss prevention at Amazon, and Laquettia Blanchard, who was a senior human resources assistant at the company. Officials say both employees helped Wortham create more fake vendor accounts.

Hines used stolen personal information that he purchased from JaQuan Frazier, who allegedly purchased the information from Darrel J. Burgo, according to the release.

“Hines and Blanchard were paid in fraudulent proceeds,” it states. “Hines also recruited Jamar L. James, Sr., another Operations Manager at Amazon’s location in Duluth, Georgia, into the scheme. Like Wortham, James allegedly approved fake vendors and fictitious invoices, including after Wortham left Amazon in March 2022.”

The release states that while Wortham and Hudson were on bond, they committed new criminal conduct resulting in the cancellation of their bonds. While attempting to open a hookah lounge in Atlanta, Georgia with the help of CRU Franchising Company in January 2023, the pair lied about the Amazon fraud charges against them, stating the charges were dismissed.

Wortham and Hudson then emailed fraudulent court documents to CRU Franchising Company that appeared to show the dismissal of the charges and had forged signatures of Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr. as well as forged seals and signatures of the Clerk of the Court.

“Hudson also allegedly emailed CRU doctored bank statements and personal financial statements that fraudulently inflated the balances in her accounts to support the franchise deal,” the release states.

Wortham pleaded guilty and was convinced of the fraud charges on Nov. 30, 2022. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and will have to pay restitution to Amazon totaling $9,469,731.45. Additionally, she is indicted for allegedly defrauding CRU Franchising Company as well as forging the signature of a federal judge and seal of the Court.

Hines also plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy on Nov. 30, 2022. On June 27, Blanchard pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and Frazier pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. All three defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

USA TODAY

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