Michigan men charged for allegedly defrauding Amazon of more than $50,000
(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that two Detroit-area men have been charged with allegedly defrauding Amazon of more than $50,000.
Ali F. Habash, 28, of Canton, was arraigned on six counts of false pretenses, $1,000 or more, but less than $20,000, one count of uttering and publishing, one count of forgery and one count of continuing a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, according to a release.
In addition, Ahmed Al-Bahia,22, also of Canton, was charged with one count of false pretenses, $1,000 or more but less than $20,000.
Amazon contacted Nessel's office in February after the company found 32 accounts had allegedly engaged in retail fraud, each controlled or connected to Habash.
Habash allegedly used these accounts between 2020 and 2023 to place for high-value products, such as Apple brand laptops and gold coins, according to the release.
Officials say Habash also allegedly requested refunds for the products but kept the items and re-sold them for a profit.
After requesting the return label, he would ship back less valuable items or not send anything back at all.
In addition, it is alleged that Habash and Al-Bahia collaborated on a separate instance of fraud in 2021, which caused thousands of dollars in losses for Amazon.
"This case involves both massive sums of money and an online retailer familiar to all Michigan consumers," said Nessel. "Refund process manipulation, resulting in effectively freely obtained merchandise to be re-sold for a profit, is no less a crime than physical push-out thefts or simple shoplifting. I appreciate Amazon's cooperation in identifying this scheme and working with us to hold these individuals accountable. The FORCE Team's commitment and abilities in bringing justice to retail fraudsters is equally relentless in both brick-and-mortar and online sales forums."
Habash's probable cause conference is scheduled for Aug. 9, and Al-Bahia will appear in court again on Aug. 2.
The FORCE Team, which works with retail organizations and police agencies to fight organized retail crime, investigated the case.