[UPDATE] DOJ bribery case against Amazon "consultants"
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed images that led to personally identifiable content]
First of six consultants indicted in Amazon bribery scheme sentenced to prison1
(TLDR below)
WAWD/DOJ press release, 11 February 2022, publicly available
Statement of Facts from 7 September 2022 plea agreement, publicly available
TLDR:
- First of six consultants pleads GUILTY for fraud and bribery; sentenced to 10 months in prison, 3 years on release, and $50K fine.
- Four of the remaining defendants face trials in October 2022; last defendant has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.
- Also, it was reported by Bloomberg in June 2021 that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg, aka Ed Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee who is also a potential witness, in violation of his pre-trial release terms and also, you know, laws and such.
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
UPDATE (from May 2022)
Not sure how I missed this one, y’all! 
184 replies
Seller_hA060q8nqygew
that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee
But wait… it says the message “expressed concern about …safety”. 
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed personally identifiable content]
Seller_qIY1zDxKNWKmI
I have a feeling there is much more of this activity going on that nobody knows about.
Seller_UdRoFesUCxHio
Pretty good bang for the buck, right?
With that kind of illicit profit, one has to assume that this is more prevalent than this case.
“In all, the individuals allegedly paid $100,000 worth of bribes to employees and reaped more than $100 million in competitive benefits, the DOJ said.”
Seller_egRC2xE2AJbXj
It will surprise me if this thread doesn’t get deleted. Amazon tends to remove anything that mentions Amazon employees being involved in stuff like this. This is far from the first time employees have taken bribes. Many Amazon employees in China have been caught and fired and I am sure they are just a small percentage of the ones that engage in providing benefits including leaking confidential information on other sellers and buyers in exchange for bribes.
Seller_3qllv6SY8mdjV
An important detail here is one defendant “has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.”
If Amazon is giving the tools and power to potentially do this sort of damage, to people in places they wont be able to legally bring justice to them if they are discovered, that is a huge problem.
Given this fact, it would be better for Amazon to move all critical seller support (where they have the power to change listings or reinstate, etc) to the US.
This way if there is misbehavior, the support rep can be prosecuted.
This is only fair to sellers. With great power comes great responsibility, and if these support reps in India have the power to do seriously illegal things, then Amazon needs to make sure they can be held accountable.
Seller_qsjXhUS6U3FXD
What I would love to see is a list of all the clientele! It would be interesting to see what products and companies engaged in this criminal activity by using their services.
I do so hope you are right on this!
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
My sole knowledge of the defendants comes from publicly available information about them, some in news reports some in their own self promotion to gain a following among sellers and consulting gig.
The Amazon seller community divides in many ways.
There are sellers who strive to do the right thing, morally, ethically and legally.
There are sellers who will do anything they believe to be legal.
There are sellers who will not hesitate to do anything which will make a buck.
The attitude of consultants seems to break along similar lines.
The presence of a large number of consultants who are making money from Amazon sellers is the direct result of Amazon lack of transparency, lack of seller qualification and uneven and bot enforcement of Amazon policy.
Guilty or innocent, Amazon by its actions created the situation these defendants are in.
Having benefited, in the past, by running a small company which benefited by filling gaps in the product line and information flow from a large tech company, I know how important this external role is, and how careful one must be in determine the limits on such companies and consultants.
This being the Internet, it is a lot tougher to know enough to walk the straight and narrow, or to know where it is.
Seller_3wzBczgcWe0Ch
I wonder how many 3rd party sellers put everything they had into their business that supports their families to one day waking up to poof- all gone, suspended with no recourse. No one can tell them why and while they go bankrupt all they can do is to ask SS and get an answer along the lines of “we understand, please contact UPS directly about your claim”
I hope the effected accounts are compensated some how.
[UPDATE] DOJ bribery case against Amazon "consultants"
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed images that led to personally identifiable content]
First of six consultants indicted in Amazon bribery scheme sentenced to prison1
(TLDR below)
WAWD/DOJ press release, 11 February 2022, publicly available
Statement of Facts from 7 September 2022 plea agreement, publicly available
TLDR:
- First of six consultants pleads GUILTY for fraud and bribery; sentenced to 10 months in prison, 3 years on release, and $50K fine.
- Four of the remaining defendants face trials in October 2022; last defendant has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.
- Also, it was reported by Bloomberg in June 2021 that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg, aka Ed Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee who is also a potential witness, in violation of his pre-trial release terms and also, you know, laws and such.
[UPDATE] DOJ bribery case against Amazon "consultants"
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed images that led to personally identifiable content]
First of six consultants indicted in Amazon bribery scheme sentenced to prison1
(TLDR below)
WAWD/DOJ press release, 11 February 2022, publicly available
Statement of Facts from 7 September 2022 plea agreement, publicly available
TLDR:
- First of six consultants pleads GUILTY for fraud and bribery; sentenced to 10 months in prison, 3 years on release, and $50K fine.
- Four of the remaining defendants face trials in October 2022; last defendant has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.
- Also, it was reported by Bloomberg in June 2021 that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg, aka Ed Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee who is also a potential witness, in violation of his pre-trial release terms and also, you know, laws and such.
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
UPDATE (from May 2022)
Not sure how I missed this one, y’all!
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
UPDATE (from May 2022)
Not sure how I missed this one, y’all!
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
UPDATE (from May 2022)
Not sure how I missed this one, y’all!
184 replies
184 replies
Seller_hA060q8nqygew
that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee
But wait… it says the message “expressed concern about …safety”.
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed personally identifiable content]
Seller_qIY1zDxKNWKmI
I have a feeling there is much more of this activity going on that nobody knows about.
Seller_UdRoFesUCxHio
Pretty good bang for the buck, right?
With that kind of illicit profit, one has to assume that this is more prevalent than this case.
“In all, the individuals allegedly paid $100,000 worth of bribes to employees and reaped more than $100 million in competitive benefits, the DOJ said.”
Seller_egRC2xE2AJbXj
It will surprise me if this thread doesn’t get deleted. Amazon tends to remove anything that mentions Amazon employees being involved in stuff like this. This is far from the first time employees have taken bribes. Many Amazon employees in China have been caught and fired and I am sure they are just a small percentage of the ones that engage in providing benefits including leaking confidential information on other sellers and buyers in exchange for bribes.
Seller_3qllv6SY8mdjV
An important detail here is one defendant “has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.”
If Amazon is giving the tools and power to potentially do this sort of damage, to people in places they wont be able to legally bring justice to them if they are discovered, that is a huge problem.
Given this fact, it would be better for Amazon to move all critical seller support (where they have the power to change listings or reinstate, etc) to the US.
This way if there is misbehavior, the support rep can be prosecuted.
This is only fair to sellers. With great power comes great responsibility, and if these support reps in India have the power to do seriously illegal things, then Amazon needs to make sure they can be held accountable.
Seller_qsjXhUS6U3FXD
What I would love to see is a list of all the clientele! It would be interesting to see what products and companies engaged in this criminal activity by using their services.
I do so hope you are right on this!
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
My sole knowledge of the defendants comes from publicly available information about them, some in news reports some in their own self promotion to gain a following among sellers and consulting gig.
The Amazon seller community divides in many ways.
There are sellers who strive to do the right thing, morally, ethically and legally.
There are sellers who will do anything they believe to be legal.
There are sellers who will not hesitate to do anything which will make a buck.
The attitude of consultants seems to break along similar lines.
The presence of a large number of consultants who are making money from Amazon sellers is the direct result of Amazon lack of transparency, lack of seller qualification and uneven and bot enforcement of Amazon policy.
Guilty or innocent, Amazon by its actions created the situation these defendants are in.
Having benefited, in the past, by running a small company which benefited by filling gaps in the product line and information flow from a large tech company, I know how important this external role is, and how careful one must be in determine the limits on such companies and consultants.
This being the Internet, it is a lot tougher to know enough to walk the straight and narrow, or to know where it is.
Seller_3wzBczgcWe0Ch
I wonder how many 3rd party sellers put everything they had into their business that supports their families to one day waking up to poof- all gone, suspended with no recourse. No one can tell them why and while they go bankrupt all they can do is to ask SS and get an answer along the lines of “we understand, please contact UPS directly about your claim”
I hope the effected accounts are compensated some how.
Seller_hA060q8nqygew
that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee
But wait… it says the message “expressed concern about …safety”.
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed personally identifiable content]
Seller_hA060q8nqygew
that one defendant (Ephraim Rosenberg) allegedly sent a threatening message to an Amazon employee
But wait… it says the message “expressed concern about …safety”.
[Moderator edit: SEAmod removed personally identifiable content]
Seller_qIY1zDxKNWKmI
I have a feeling there is much more of this activity going on that nobody knows about.
Seller_qIY1zDxKNWKmI
I have a feeling there is much more of this activity going on that nobody knows about.
Seller_UdRoFesUCxHio
Pretty good bang for the buck, right?
With that kind of illicit profit, one has to assume that this is more prevalent than this case.
“In all, the individuals allegedly paid $100,000 worth of bribes to employees and reaped more than $100 million in competitive benefits, the DOJ said.”
Seller_UdRoFesUCxHio
Pretty good bang for the buck, right?
With that kind of illicit profit, one has to assume that this is more prevalent than this case.
“In all, the individuals allegedly paid $100,000 worth of bribes to employees and reaped more than $100 million in competitive benefits, the DOJ said.”
Seller_egRC2xE2AJbXj
It will surprise me if this thread doesn’t get deleted. Amazon tends to remove anything that mentions Amazon employees being involved in stuff like this. This is far from the first time employees have taken bribes. Many Amazon employees in China have been caught and fired and I am sure they are just a small percentage of the ones that engage in providing benefits including leaking confidential information on other sellers and buyers in exchange for bribes.
Seller_egRC2xE2AJbXj
It will surprise me if this thread doesn’t get deleted. Amazon tends to remove anything that mentions Amazon employees being involved in stuff like this. This is far from the first time employees have taken bribes. Many Amazon employees in China have been caught and fired and I am sure they are just a small percentage of the ones that engage in providing benefits including leaking confidential information on other sellers and buyers in exchange for bribes.
Seller_3qllv6SY8mdjV
An important detail here is one defendant “has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.”
If Amazon is giving the tools and power to potentially do this sort of damage, to people in places they wont be able to legally bring justice to them if they are discovered, that is a huge problem.
Given this fact, it would be better for Amazon to move all critical seller support (where they have the power to change listings or reinstate, etc) to the US.
This way if there is misbehavior, the support rep can be prosecuted.
This is only fair to sellers. With great power comes great responsibility, and if these support reps in India have the power to do seriously illegal things, then Amazon needs to make sure they can be held accountable.
Seller_3qllv6SY8mdjV
An important detail here is one defendant “has not yet been arraigned because he is not in the US.”
If Amazon is giving the tools and power to potentially do this sort of damage, to people in places they wont be able to legally bring justice to them if they are discovered, that is a huge problem.
Given this fact, it would be better for Amazon to move all critical seller support (where they have the power to change listings or reinstate, etc) to the US.
This way if there is misbehavior, the support rep can be prosecuted.
This is only fair to sellers. With great power comes great responsibility, and if these support reps in India have the power to do seriously illegal things, then Amazon needs to make sure they can be held accountable.
Seller_qsjXhUS6U3FXD
What I would love to see is a list of all the clientele! It would be interesting to see what products and companies engaged in this criminal activity by using their services.
I do so hope you are right on this!
Seller_qsjXhUS6U3FXD
What I would love to see is a list of all the clientele! It would be interesting to see what products and companies engaged in this criminal activity by using their services.
I do so hope you are right on this!
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
My sole knowledge of the defendants comes from publicly available information about them, some in news reports some in their own self promotion to gain a following among sellers and consulting gig.
The Amazon seller community divides in many ways.
There are sellers who strive to do the right thing, morally, ethically and legally.
There are sellers who will do anything they believe to be legal.
There are sellers who will not hesitate to do anything which will make a buck.
The attitude of consultants seems to break along similar lines.
The presence of a large number of consultants who are making money from Amazon sellers is the direct result of Amazon lack of transparency, lack of seller qualification and uneven and bot enforcement of Amazon policy.
Guilty or innocent, Amazon by its actions created the situation these defendants are in.
Having benefited, in the past, by running a small company which benefited by filling gaps in the product line and information flow from a large tech company, I know how important this external role is, and how careful one must be in determine the limits on such companies and consultants.
This being the Internet, it is a lot tougher to know enough to walk the straight and narrow, or to know where it is.
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
My sole knowledge of the defendants comes from publicly available information about them, some in news reports some in their own self promotion to gain a following among sellers and consulting gig.
The Amazon seller community divides in many ways.
There are sellers who strive to do the right thing, morally, ethically and legally.
There are sellers who will do anything they believe to be legal.
There are sellers who will not hesitate to do anything which will make a buck.
The attitude of consultants seems to break along similar lines.
The presence of a large number of consultants who are making money from Amazon sellers is the direct result of Amazon lack of transparency, lack of seller qualification and uneven and bot enforcement of Amazon policy.
Guilty or innocent, Amazon by its actions created the situation these defendants are in.
Having benefited, in the past, by running a small company which benefited by filling gaps in the product line and information flow from a large tech company, I know how important this external role is, and how careful one must be in determine the limits on such companies and consultants.
This being the Internet, it is a lot tougher to know enough to walk the straight and narrow, or to know where it is.
Seller_3wzBczgcWe0Ch
I wonder how many 3rd party sellers put everything they had into their business that supports their families to one day waking up to poof- all gone, suspended with no recourse. No one can tell them why and while they go bankrupt all they can do is to ask SS and get an answer along the lines of “we understand, please contact UPS directly about your claim”
I hope the effected accounts are compensated some how.
Seller_3wzBczgcWe0Ch
I wonder how many 3rd party sellers put everything they had into their business that supports their families to one day waking up to poof- all gone, suspended with no recourse. No one can tell them why and while they go bankrupt all they can do is to ask SS and get an answer along the lines of “we understand, please contact UPS directly about your claim”
I hope the effected accounts are compensated some how.
