$50K+ Amazon return scheme leads to charges against 2 Michigan men
CANTON, Mich. (FOX 2) - A scheme to manipulate Amazon's return process to steal more than $50,000 in merchandise led to charges against two Canton men, authorities said.
According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Ali F. Habash, 28, is charged with six counts of false pretenses $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, uttering and publishing, forgery, and continuing a criminal enterprise. Ahmed Al-Bahia, 22, is charged with one count of false pretenses $1,000 or more but less than $20,000.
Nessel said Habash controlled 32 Amazon accounts. On six occasions between 2020 and 2023, he ordered expensive items such as Apple laptops and gold coins. He allegedly then would begin return processes for these items but would either send a cheaper item back or nothing at all.
Habash allegedly sold the items he never returned but received refunds for.
Habash and Al-Bahia allegedly worked together at one point to defraud thousands of dollars from Amazon.
Nessel's office was contacted after Amazon’s internal investigations division caught the fraud,
"This case involves both massive sums of money and an online retailer familiar to all Michigan consumers," said Nessel. "Refund process manipulation, resulting in effectively freely obtained merchandise to be re-sold for a profit, is no less a crime than physical push-out thefts or simple shoplifting. I appreciate Amazon’s cooperation in identifying this scheme and working with us to hold these individuals accountable. The FORCE Team's commitment and abilities in bringing justice to retail fraudsters is equally relentless in both brick-and-mortar and online sales forums."