Consultants charged for bribing Amazon Marketplace employees to game the platform

Prosecutors allege the group paid handsome bribes to give clients a competitive advantage. According to the indictment, issued by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Washington, the six conspired to pay Amazon employees over $100,000 to secure an ‘unfair competitive advantage’ on Amazon Marketplace. The bribery bill is steep, but in return, the fraud carried a commercial worth and sales revenue of up to $100 million, the DoJ claims.

Prosecutors allege that since at least 2017, the six acted as consultants to third-party sellers on Amazon, and two of the individuals also operated their own stores. At least 10 Amazon employees and contractors received kickbacks — including Kunji, who apparently began as a seller and then was later roped into the scheme as a consultant — to conduct fraudulent activities behind the scenes.

Source: zdnet.com