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Feds: 2 former Amazon employees in Smyrna stole $10 million from company
Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.Thu, December 1, 2022 at 6:39 PM·3 min read
Dec. 1—Two former Amazon employees who worked at an Amazon warehouse in Smyrna pleaded guilty after being accused of stealing nearly $10 million from the company, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
The defendants stole the funds while employed at the company in managerial and loss prevention roles, prosecutors said, and spent it on real estate, sports cars and jewelry.
Ryan K. Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said that Kayricka Wortham of Atlanta and Demetrius Hines of Smyrna used their positions at the e-commerce and tech giant to submit more than $10 million in fictitious invoices for fake vendors, leading the company to pay approximately $9.4 million to Wortham, Hines and co-conspirators.
part of their sentencing, Wortham and Hines will forfeit cash and assets purchased with the stolen funds, prosecutors said. For Wortham, that includes more than $2.7 million, a Smyrna residence (purchased for more than $900,000), a 2019 Lamborghini Urus, a 2021 Dodge Durango, a 2022 Tesla Model X, a 2018 Porsche Panamera and a Kawasaki ZX636 motorcycle. Hines will forfeit more than $600,000, along with a 2022 Suzuki GSX1300 Motorcycle, a 2013 Ford Shelby Mustang, a 2021 Ford F-150 Black Widow, a Rolex Day-Date watch, a diamond bracelet and a diamond necklace.
Wortham, 31, also known as Kayricka Dupree or Kayricka Young, was the leader of the scheme and worked as an operations manager at Amazon from August 2020 to March 2022 at the Smyrna warehouse, according to prosecutors.
Wortham provided fake vendor information to subordinates and asked them to input the information into Amazon's vendor system. She then approved the fake vendors, enabling the accounts to submit invoices to the company, prosecutors said. Along with Hines and others, Wortham submitted fake invoices for fake goods and services. Wortham herself approved the payments in her position at the company, with the funds going into accounts controlled by her and her co-conspirators.
Wortham is also accused by prosecutors of recruiting others to act as contacts for the phony vendors. Hines was tasked with supplying individuals' information that could be used as fake vendor contacts, prosecutors said.
part of their sentencing, Wortham and Hines will forfeit cash and assets purchased with the stolen funds, prosecutors said. For Wortham, that includes more than $2.7 million, a Smyrna residence (purchased for more than $900,000), a 2019 Lamborghini Urus, a 2021 Dodge Durango, a 2022 Tesla Model X, a 2018 Porsche Panamera and a Kawasaki ZX636 motorcycle. Hines will forfeit more than $600,000, along with a 2022 Suzuki GSX1300 Motorcycle, a 2013 Ford Shelby Mustang, a 2021 Ford F-150 Black Widow, a Rolex Day-Date watch, a diamond bracelet and a diamond necklace.
Wortham, 31, also known as Kayricka Dupree or Kayricka Young, was the leader of the scheme and worked as an operations manager at Amazon from August 2020 to March 2022 at the Smyrna warehouse, according to prosecutors.
Wortham provided fake vendor information to subordinates and asked them to input the information into Amazon's vendor system. She then approved the fake vendors, enabling the accounts to submit invoices to the company, prosecutors said. Along with Hines and others, Wortham submitted fake invoices for fake goods and services. Wortham herself approved the payments in her position at the company, with the funds going into accounts controlled by her and her co-conspirators.
Wortham is also accused by prosecutors of recruiting others to act as contacts for the phony vendors. Hines was tasked with supplying individuals' information that could be used as fake vendor contacts, prosecutors said.
ines, 35, was a loss prevention multi-site lead at Amazon who worked at the Smyrna warehouse and other company sites. His job duties included preventing loss, monitoring security risks and protecting people, products and information at Amazon.
Wortham and Hines pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Brittany Hudson, 37, of Atlanta has also been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the case.
Prosecutors allege Hudson was in a relationship with Wortham and owned a business, Legend Express LLC, which contracted with Amazon to deliver packages. Hudson is accused of conspiring with Wortham to submit phony invoices as part of the scheme. Her case is still pending.
just steal enough to be comfortable or steal and keep your head low and don’t spend until years after you quit.
