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 each. Abdullah Alwan, 28, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison. The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judges John Tuchi, Diane Humetewa, and Susan Brnovich on February 5, February 17, and March 2 of this year respectively.
All three defendants previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. They were also ordered to pay $1.5 million each in restitution to Amazon.
According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Alwan had worked for Amazon in its logistics division before leaving the company in 2021. After his departure, he used his knowledge of Amazon’s proprietary system for creating and tracking transportation loads to manipulate standard rates for deliveries assigned to third-party carrier companies.
Basheer and Mughith Faisal operated Blue Line Transport, an Arizona-based transportation company approved as a third-party carrier by Amazon. Working with Alwan, they knowingly accepted increased transportation rates that had been fraudulently entered into Amazon’s system. This collaboration resulted in defrauding Amazon of approximately $4.5 million.
The FBI Phoenix Division led the investigation into the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aron Ketchel and Adriana Genco prosecuted the matter for the District of Arizona.
“The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office appreciate Amazon for referring the matter to the FBI and for the company’s cooperation throughout the investigation,” officials stated.
More information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
