A St. Louis man has been convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $200,000 worth of merchandise from Kohl’s using fraudulent transactions involving Kohl’s Cash.
Marshall Lampkin, 35, was found guilty on five counts of mail fraud after evidence presented at trial showed he exploited the retailer’s rewards program by making in-store purchases with Kohl’s Cash and then quickly using the same reward credits to make online orders before the initial transaction registered. He would subsequently return the store-bought items for more Kohl’s Cash and repeat the process.
According to testimony, Lampkin executed this scheme over 100 times during 2021 and 2022 at 40 different stores across 13 states. The merchandise he obtained—including flooring, furniture, small appliances, and other goods—was shipped to storage units in St. Louis and to a relative's home in Illinois. Investigators reported that Lampkin sold or attempted to sell these items through Facebook advertisements.
Authorities recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Kohl’s merchandise from Lampkin's storage units.
The trial began Monday and concluded with jurors delivering their verdict in less than seven minutes. Sentencing is scheduled for December.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Derek Wiseman are handling prosecution duties.
"
