Three men from the Phoenix area have been sentenced for their involvement in a fraud scheme targeting Amazon. Mughith Faisal, 29, and Basheer Faisal, 28, both of Glendale, Arizona, received sentences of 18 months in prison. Abdullah Alwan, 28, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison. All three had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud and were ordered to pay $1.5 million each in restitution to Amazon.
According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Abdullah Alwan worked for Amazon’s logistics division before leaving the company in 2021. After his departure, he used his knowledge of Amazon’s internal systems to manipulate transportation rates assigned to third-party carrier companies. Basheer and Mughith Faisal operated Blue Line Transport, an Arizona-based transportation company approved by Amazon as a third-party carrier. The two brothers collaborated with Alwan by accepting the inflated transportation rates that Alwan entered into Amazon’s system. This scheme resulted in approximately $4.5 million being fraudulently obtained from Amazon.
The FBI Phoenix Division led the investigation into this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aron Ketchel and Adriana Genco prosecuted the case for the District of Arizona in Phoenix. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged Amazon for reporting the matter and cooperating throughout the investigation.
“Amazon referred this matter to the FBI and cooperated fully with law enforcement,” according to statements provided by officials involved with the case.
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
