Three men from the Phoenix area have been sentenced for their involvement in a fraud scheme targeting Amazon. Mughith Faisal, 29, and Basheer Faisal, 28, both of Glendale, Arizona, received sentences of 18 months in prison each. Abdullah Alwan, 28, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison. All three had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, Abdullah Alwan was employed by Amazon in its logistics division until 2021. After leaving the company, he used his knowledge of Amazon’s proprietary systems to artificially raise transportation delivery rates assigned to third-party carrier companies working with Amazon. Basheer and Mughith Faisal operated Blue Line Transport, an Arizona-based transportation company approved as an Amazon third-party carrier. The Faisals worked with Alwan to receive the inflated rates that Alwan entered into Amazon’s system. This collaboration resulted in approximately $4.5 million being fraudulently obtained from Amazon.
All three defendants were ordered by the court to pay $1.5 million each in restitution to Amazon.
The case was investigated by the FBI Phoenix Division. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aron Ketchel and Adriana Genco from the District of Arizona office.
“The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office appreciate Amazon for referring the matter to the FBI and for the company’s cooperation throughout the investigation,” according to a statement released by authorities.
More information about this case can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
