PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain – Two young Spanish men devised a scheme to scam Amazon out of around $370,000.
James Gilbert Kwarteng, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, recruited his significant other only identified as, Juan, to assist him in a scam to business scheme. El Espanol, a Spanish media outlet said that James allegedly received thousands of packages, most high-end items including electronics. He used the easy Amazon return feature to initiate a return, but rather than the purchased item being in the box, James and Juan refilled it with dirt to where the package weight was accurate.
As the product stacked up, James, who is not only an alleged scam artist but an intelligent entrepreneur type began his own online business. The business included selling the still-new products for a discounted price. Being careful not to be caught, James and Juan would weigh the package as it was received and would make sure the exact weight, in dirt, was returned in the box.
Eventually, they realized that the packages were not checked as they were returned and the money was refunded once the weight of the product was deemed accurate. The scheme went on for years, until they became concerned about the high amount of returns and checked one of the returned packages. Police investigated the claims and placed both me under arrest. The two appeared in court and were released with 3,000 euros (approximately 3338 U.S. Dollars).
Amazon closed the pairs accounts due to the fraudulent returns. Now both await court dates and will both face up to 20 years in prison for the fraud against Amazon.
