The Department of Justice announced on Friday that six people have been charged in connection to a scheme to bribe Amazon personnel and contractors for “an unfair advantage” in the online market, CNBC reports.
Federal prosecutors accuse the defendants of relying on bribery, having allegedly planned to pay more than $100,000 for an unfair advantage on the company’s online marketplace. They’ve also been accused of fraudulently having Amazon reinstate products and accounts that the company had suspended or blocked from its marketplace. The indictment claims that this has resulted in over $100 million in competitive benefits for those accounts, as well as in harm to consumers and competitors.
"The ultimate victim from this criminal conduct is the buying public who get inferior or even dangerous goods that should have been removed from the marketplace," U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a statement.
A spokesperson from Amazon noted that the company worked with the Justice Department, and that it has methods of detecting suspicious behavior from both sellers and employees.
"We are especially disappointed by the actions of this limited group of now former employees, and appreciate the collaboration and support from law enforcement to bring them and the bad actors they were entwined with to justice," the spokesman said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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