#Roommates, talk about finessing the system. Have you ever heard of a “five finger” employee discount? Yeah, me either. Well, two Amazon delivery drivers must have, because they were busted for their involvement in a $10 million theft ring of stolen goods from Amazon.
According to a search warrant affidavit that was unsealed in Seattle’s U.S. District Court, two storefront businesses that posed as pawn shops, bought stolen goods from shop lifters and shipped them to Amazon warehouses to be resold online.
You may be asking what part did the Amazon drivers play in this theft ring. Well, the two drivers were originally hired by Amazon to travel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, pick up items that were being returned to Amazon, and then bring them to an Amazon warehouse south of Seattle. However, the two men habitually stole the goods and sold them to the pawn shops.
The investigation started last summer when a police detective in Auburn, a small suburban town in Seattle, was going through a record of pawn shop sales and noticed that one man made 57 transactions. The man turned out to be one of the Amazon delivery drivers.
According to the FBI, the ringleader received at least $10 million in the past six years, selling items on Amazon. Although no charges have been filed yet, investigators have raided both pawnshops and the home of the man believed to be the ringleader.
On Wednesday, during their visit to one of the pawn shops, investigators spoke to Aleksandr Pavlovskiy, 44, of Auburn. The man opened the door, identified himself as Alex and told The Associated Press that his buildings was legitimate, that he kept food records and should not be in any trouble.
Whew Chile, EBay would never.
TSR Contributor: Eric D.
