2 Canton Township Men Scam Amazon Out Of $50K: Officials

CANTON TOWNSHIP, MI — Two Canton Township men are facing charges after scamming Amazon out of at least $50,000, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Ali F. Habash, 28, was charged with six counts of false pretenses: $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, one count of uttering and publishing, one count of forgery and one count of continuing a criminal enterprise, which carries a 20-year felony. His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 9.

Ahmed Al-Bahia, 22, was charged with one count of false pretenses: $1,000 or more but less than $20,000. He was expected to appear in court Friday.

Officials said Habash used 32 different accounts between 2020 and 2023 to place orders for high-value products, including Apple brand laptops and gold coins.

After receiving the orders, Habash then requested refunds while planning to re-sell the items for profit, according to the attorney general's office.

Instead of sending back the item, Habash kept that original product and shipped items that were either completely different or of a lesser value back to Amazon, according to the attorney general's office.

Sometimes, Habash didn't send anything back to Amazon, according to the attorney general's office.

Habash and Al-Bahia then worked together on a separate scheme in 2021 that resulted in thousands of dollars in losses to Amazon, according to the online retailer and the investigation by the Attorney General’s FORCE Team.

"Refund process manipulation, resulting in effectively freely obtained merchandise to be re-sold for a profit, is no less a crime than physical push-out thefts or simple shoplifting," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nesssel said.

The Michigan Attorney General's Office worked with Amazon investigators.

"When bad actors attempt to evade our controls, we take action and work with law enforcement to hold them accountable. Amazon referred this case to the Michigan Department of Attorney General, provided evidence and supported this investigation. We are grateful for the Attorney General’s collaboration and believe these charges send a strong message that participating in fraudulent refund schemes has severe consequences," said Kathy Sheehan, Amazon VP of Business Conduct & Ethics.