Amazon Case: Indian American Sent to Prison
India-West Staff Reporter
NORTHRIDGE, CA – A 28-year-old former employee of Amazon has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for his involvement in an international bribery scheme to steal confidential information.
Rohit Kadimisetty is one of six consultants who were indicted in Sept.2020 for a fraud and bribery scheme targeting the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce giant.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) in a statement said on Feb.12 that Kadimisetty was also fined $50,000. He used his prior status as an Amazon employee and underhanded tactics, including commercial bribes, to steal confidential information and manipulate the Amazon Marketplace, it said.
At the sentencing hearing US District Judge Richard A Jones said, “You do not have a license to steal from Amazon… you were involved in illegal conduct… This could be called modern day organized crime.” Kadimisetty used his knowledge and contacts to enrich himself by manipulating listings on Amazon, US attorney Nick Brown said.
Following his employment at Amazon, and after relocating to the US, Kadimisetty used his inside knowledge to recruit employees in India to misuse their employee privileges and access to internal information, systems, and tools, the DoJ said.
Kadimisetty connected employees in India with other consultants and third party sellers across the US, it said, adding that he acted as a middleman of sorts, assigning tasks on behalf of third party sellers and negotiating and arranging bribe payments on behalf of corrupted Amazon insiders.
The DoJ said, to hide his criminal conduct, Kadimisetty used deceptive email accounts, encrypted messaging services, and bribes through third parties. Along with his accomplices he stole confidential Amazon algorithms; reinstated accounts and products that had been suspended; falsified claims for lost inventory; and attacked competing sellers.
Kadimisetty has admitted being responsible for $100,000 in bribes paid to Amazon insiders during his active involvement in the enterprise, it said. He quit the racket in 2018 after his accomplices in India were fired for misconduct.
