Man pleads guilty to swindling Amazon out of $1.3 million in refund scam

A Los Angeles vendor on Amazon pleaded guilty Monday to swindling the web retailer out of greater than $1.3 million over a span of 9 years.

Ting Hong Yeung, 41, of Hacienda Heights was charged with felony wire fraud in March for manipulating the company’s fee system. A felony wire cost carries a most 20-year sentence.

According to the cost filed by the Department of Justice, Yeung, a third-party vendor, started his operations by itemizing costly merchandise, comparable to furnishings and residential decor, at considerably low costs to quickly spherical up gross sales. Instead of transport the bought gadgets to clients, Yeung offered Amazon with bogus monitoring numbers.

When clients contacted Yeung by means of Amazon’s buyer-seller messaging service inquiring in regards to the lacking orders, Yeung inspired them to wait somewhat than submit complaints to Amazon — lengthy sufficient to be sure that Amazon would have to disburse the funds themselves.

Federal prosecutors mentioned Yeung additionally used merchandise bought from different Amazon sellers to fulfill his personal orders.

Upon receiving the product, Yeung would provoke a refund request by stating the product was “different from what was ordered,” then return the same product of decrease worth, prosecutors mentioned.

Federal prosecutors mentioned Yeung has agreed to pay restitution, some of which can be paid with gold and silver bars seized throughout a search of his residence in February.

Sentencing was set for Aug. 29.