Grand Jury: Hartford Man Targeted Amazon In Fraud Scheme: Feds

HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN, CT — A federal grand jury has indicted a Hartford man and former Amazon employee alleging his role in a scheme to defraud the home delivery retail giant.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, and Patrick J. Freaney, special agent in charge, United States Secret Service, New York field office, Tuesday announced a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a four-count indictment charging Terrell Kimble, 44, of Hartford, with offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud Amazon.

The indictment was returned Aug. 7 and Kimble was arrested Aug. 15, Avery said, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on $250,000 bond.

The indictment alleges Kimble was employed by Amazon as a regional fleet specialist and an area manager, based in Connecticut.

According to Avery, Amazon operated an employee reward program called Peak, administered through a procurement portal called Coupa.

She said Coupa allowed certain employees, including area managers, to reward other employees on their work team for superior performance by ordering an item from Amazon for the employee at no cost.

Between approximately July 2021 and December 2022, Kimble placed at least 196 Coupa orders fraudulently representing that they were to reward employee performance, Avery said.

Instead, according to Avery, the products, mainly high-end electronic goods, were delivered to his mother’s residence for his use.

She said the electronic items included Apple iPad Pro, Apple AirPods Pro, Apple Watch devices, and Nintendo Switches.

The indictment charges Kimble with four counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count.

For the full indictment announcement, click on this link.