Ex-Amazon boss sentenced to 16 years in prison in theft scheme of 9 million dollars

Together, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson used the stolen money to buy a five-bedroom home in Smyrna, just miles from the Amazon warehouse, for nearly $1 million, along with a Lamborghini, a Tesla, a Porsche Panamera, a Kawasaki motorcycle and a Dodge Durango SUV, according to prosecutors. They also bought expensive jewelry with the stolen money, charging documents show.

After Ms. Wortham left Amazon in March 2022, the scheme continued, prosecutors said.

In January, while out on bond, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson worked with a franchise company to try to open a hookah parlor, according to prosecutors. When the company asked them about the charges related to the Amazon case, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson sent the company falsified court documents indicating that the charges had been dismissed in the case, according to prosecutors. Their bonds were revoked after authorities learned of the forgery.

Last month, Hudson was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges in the Amazon case. She and Mrs Wortham were also charged with forgery in connection with the attempt to claim that the charges in the Amazon case had been dismissed.

A lawyer for Ms. Hudson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Mrs. Wortham and Hudson were assisted in the Amazon scheme by Demetrius Hines, who worked in loss prevention for Amazon, and Laquettia Blanchard, who was an HR assistant at the company, according to prosecutors.

Mr. Hines and Mrs. Blanchard gave Ms. Wortham names and social security numbers that were used to set up some of the fake vendor accounts, according to prosecutors. Mr. Hines purchased the stolen personal information from JaQuan Frazier, prosecutors said.