A former Amazon operations manager from Georgia has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud against the tech giant. Kayricka Wortham pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, leading a scheme that defrauded Amazon of over $9.4 million. Alongside her alleged co-conspirator, Brittany Hudson, Wortham used the stolen funds to purchase luxury items, including expensive real estate and high-end vehicles.
Kayricka Wortham, a former Amazon operations manager from Georgia, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for her involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraud against the tech giant. The sentencing comes after Wortham pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud. Over the course of her 1½ years with Amazon, Wortham led a scheme that defrauded the company of more than $9.4 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia revealed that Wortham and her alleged co-conspirator, Brittany Hudson, used the stolen funds to purchase luxury items, including a nearly $1 million home, luxury cars, and a motorcycle.
Prosecutors alleged that Wortham and her accomplices submitted fictitious invoices to Amazon, falsely claiming that vendors had provided goods and services to the company. Wortham manipulated the system by providing fraudulent information to unsuspecting workers under her supervision, who then added and approved the invoices.
In an effort to make amends, Wortham has surrendered the home and vehicles purchased with the stolen money to authorities. Additionally, $2.7 million from bank accounts has been forfeited. As part of her sentence, Wortham has been ordered to repay approximately $9.47 million to Amazon. However, she still faces additional charges related to an alleged attempt to defraud another company, which involved forging the signature of a federal judge and the court’s seal. These crimes occurred while Wortham was out on bond and attempting to mislead a franchising company about the status of her criminal charges.
Upon her release, Wortham will be placed on three years of probation in addition to her prison sentence. U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel emphasized the severity of her crimes and the impact on Amazon’s trust and the nation’s financial systems. He commended the U.S. attorney’s office for ensuring that Wortham’s sentence reflects the seriousness of her actions.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Brittany Hudson, Wortham’s alleged co-conspirator, and two others have pending cases, while three others have pleaded guilty but have not yet been sentenced.