Bridgeport Man Pleads Guilty In Amazon Scam Case: U.S. Attorney

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 27-year-old Bridgeport man waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Friday to a charge stemming from his fraud against Amazon.com, Inc., announced U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Rajhni Yankana pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford. The guilty plea was also announced by David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI.

According to court documents and statements, Yankana created multiple vendor accounts with Amazon allowing him to sell merchandise through the website on a third-party basis. He often opened the accounts using false names, email addresses and other identifying information.

After setting up the accounts, prosecutors said, Yankana represented to Amazon that he was shipping it valuable merchandise to be held for sale by the company, but in reality, he would not ship the merchandise. He would later falsely claim that it had been lost, supporting his false claims with fabricated documents.

As a result, Amazon sent Yankana a series of refunds for the purportedly lost merchandise, and the government contends that Amazon lost approximately $210,000 as a result of Yankana’s criminal conduct.

Yankana pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.

Judge Thompson scheduled Yankana's sentencing for Jan. 6; he is currently free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Conor M. Reardon and Christopher W. Schmeisser.