It's great! The key figure in the Amazon bribery case was finally sentenced

A federal judge in Seattle sentenced the final two defendants in an Amazon bribery case , including a central figure prosecutors described as a “key player” in a three-year bribery operation that may have involved at least $100,000 in bribes .

Joseph Nelson , who prosecutors said was the most culpable of all six defendants involved in the case, was sentenced to 18 months in prison , while his fiancée, Kristen Leches , was sentenced to two years of probation.

Nelson and Leches, who both live in New York, run a consulting firm that provides operational guidance to Amazon sellers. They and four others were charged with participating in a three-year bribery operation that bribed Amazon employees for confidential information to help clients gain an unfair advantage over other sellers, according to court records.

Nelson, Leches and three other co-defendants pleaded guilty last year, while a sixth co-defendant remains at large, according to court records.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the defendants’ violations included falsifying invoices, tampering with Amazon’s shipping and tracking records, writing false reviews, and manipulating competitors’ product detail pages.

Nielsen acted as a conduit between sellers and “Amazon insiders” and considered himself the CEO of the consulting business, while Leches used the title of vice president or content strategist, prosecutors wrote.

"For more than three years, these defendants grew their businesses by cheating: bribing Amazon employees, forging documents, attacking competitors with fake reviews, and even posting cartoon obscene hand gestures on competitors' product pages. Now they will face the consequences," Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said in a statement.

In addition, the defendants helped sellers restore frozen accounts. In some cases, prosecutors said, they used illegally obtained information to determine why the account was frozen and adjusted the appeal accordingly. In one case, Nelson and another defendant paid a $6,000 bribe to an Amazon insider to restore a frozen account.

After this case comes to an end, I believe that the majority of Amazon sellers will feel very happy to see those who violate the rules being punished by law. Sellers who operate legitimate businesses will also have more confidence to stick to their own way of doing things.

Amazon

bribery

Sentencing