Colorado employee pocketed $500,000 in company's in-person expenses during COVID social distancing

A Colorado woman was recently sent to prison for pocketing almost half a million dollars in expenses that she fraudulently charged to her employer for in-person meetings which actually occurred virtually during the COVID pandemic's period of social distancing, and not face-to-face.

With the money, 37-year-old Tiffany Vo purchased personal items including designer handbags and sunglasses, two vehicles, exercise equipment, and thousands of dollars of beauty products, according to federal prosecutors. She also used the money to make payments toward a condo. 

Vo, a Denver resident at the time of her offenses, was sentenced last week in federal court to one year and one day behind bars. She must repay the $483,393.58 she obtained from her employer, Amazon. Once released from prison, Vo will be on supervised probation for three years. 

According to the plea agreement, Vo was employed by Amazon for two years beginning in the summer of 2020. She worked as an executive development program manager and, later, a senior program manager. She was responsible for administering the Escape Velocity program, an executive development program, and a writing skills program for employees called Amazon Business Writing. The Escape Velocity program was initially held at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, Washington every other month. The company paid for lodging, beverages, meals, and various merchandise for participants. ABW meetings were also initially conducted in person.

But in March 2020, the programs shifted from in-person events to virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They remained virtual events until at least May 2022.

Nevertheless, Vo forged invoices and continued to charge Amazon for reimbursement of catering costs and "happy hour" in-person get-togethers which never occurred, per the plea agreement. 

Vo also made more than $120,000 in personal purchases with her company credit card. She claimed the purchases were in support of the company's programs. 

"Instead of working for her employer, this defendant was furtively working against her employer," stated FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek in a press release. "Over the course of her deception, she stole nearly $500,000 and used the money to live exorbitantly beyond her means. Members of the FBI Denver complex financial crimes squad were able to unravel the defendant's embezzlement scheme, and now she faces the justice she earned."

An Amazon spokesman told CBS News Colorado that a team of executives confronted Vo in June 2022 about the fraudulent expenses. After initially claiming no wrongdoing, Vo eventually admitted to them. Her employment was terminated that day.