Ex-Amazon Manager Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison in $9 Million Theft Scheme

Together, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson used the stolen money to buy a five-bedroom home in Smyrna, just miles from the Amazon warehouse, for nearly $1 million, along with a Lamborghini, a Tesla, a Porsche Panamera, a Kawasaki motorcycle and a Dodge Durango S.U.V., according to prosecutors. They also bought expensive jewelry with the stolen money, charging documents show.

After Ms. Wortham left Amazon in March 2022, the scheme continued, prosecutors said.

In January, while out on bond, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson were working with a franchising company to try to open a hookah lounge, according to prosecutors. When the company asked them about the charges related to the Amazon case, Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson sent the company forged court documents indicating that charges had been dismissed in the case, according to prosecutors. Their bonds were revoked after the authorities learned about the forgery.

Last month, Ms. Hudson was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges in the Amazon case. She and Ms. Wortham were also charged with forgery in connection with the effort to claim that charges in the Amazon case had been dismissed.

A lawyer for Ms. Hudson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Ms. Wortham and Ms. Hudson were assisted in the Amazon scheme by Demetrius Hines, who worked in loss prevention for Amazon, and Laquettia Blanchard, who was a human resources assistant at the company, according to prosecutors.

Mr. Hines and Ms. Blanchard gave Ms. Wortham names and Social Security numbers that were used to create some of the phony vendor accounts, according to prosecutors. Mr. Hines bought the stolen personal information from JaQuan Frazier, prosecutors said.