Freebie stealer
US District Judge Omar A. Williams has sentenced an Connecticut Amazon manager to 18 months in prison for fraudulently using the firm’s employee reward scheme to bankroll his gambling addiction.
Judge Williams passed the sentence last week after former Amazon regional fleet specialist Terrell Kimble, 44, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June.
Kimble ordered free items from Amazon as a supposed reward for employees’ good work
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut (USAO-CT), Kimble ordered free items from Amazon as a supposed reward for employees’ good work but instead kept them to support his gambling.
The USAO-CT took to X with news of the Hartford man’s sentence for defrauding Amazon via its employee reward program run through procurement portal Coupa:
In a letter to Judge Williams, according to the Connecticut Post on Monday, Kimble wrote that he felt trapped in a “cycle” of gambling.
He claimed the combination of losing bets and alcohol resulted in a loss of self-worth that was assuaged by ordering “a few more products” to support his gambling. Kimble wrote that this gave him a “reason to keep going.”
Remorse
The DOJ cited court documents stating Coupa allowed area managers like Kimble to reward workers for their performance by ordering an item from Amazon for the employee at no cost.
Kimble, however, placed over 200 Coupa orders falsely claiming they were to reward fellow workers, but instead had the products, such as Nintendo Switches, Apple iPad Pro, Apple AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch devices, delivered to his mother’s address for his personal use.
I always said this will be the last time”
In a letter to the judge cited by CT, Kimble stated: “Every time I took another item I always said this will be the last time and I feel like at the time I truly meant it.”
Instead, he wrote, “every time I gambled and lost everything again” he would order the gifts again as a way to lift his mood.
Federal defender Allison Kahn had argued the $167,115 worth of Amazon items Kimble had misappropriated were “not really a direct loss” as the firm with a $2.4tr turnover intended to write off the items given away. Federal prosecutors, however, dismissed Kahn’s argument that Amazon would write the gifts off anyway, with Assistant US Attorney Ray Miller stating the issue was Kimble lying about what the gifts were for.
“The defendant made a choice each time he committed this fraud. Each time he entered an order, often for multiple high end electronic items, he decided to commit a crime,” Miller wrote in the government’s sentencing memo.
Repeat offender
According to the USAO-CT, Kimble’s criminal history includes 14 prior convictions, including a conviction for first-degree assault and robbery in 2005. Khan stated that despite his criminal past, Kimble was able to climb the Amazon ladder after his release in 2015 to “regional fleet manager and a six-figure salary.”
The attorney, however, said while her client’s public-facing life might have appeared rosy, “internally” Kimble battled alcohol abuse and a “long-term gambling disorder.”
Noting Kimble had already been imprisoned for 12 years, Miller said the time in jail “did not deter him from once again, violating the law.” Kimble was released on a $250,000 bond but is required to check-in to prison on March 20.
