The Shelton man pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge after claiming he set up multiple fake vendor accounts on Amazon and lost items he shipped for sale to the online retail giant.
O’Shane Stewart, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford, the District of Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The office said Stewart admitted that his actions “provided Amazon with losses of approximately $742,231.16.”
Stewart is the third person to plead guilty to the scheme. On Feb. 10, his brother Kenoy Stewart pleaded guilty and admitted to causing Amazon a loss of more than $1 million, the firm said. On August 26, Rajhni Yankana pleaded guilty to the scheme. All three are currently awaiting sentencing.
Federal officials said Stewart created numerous third-party vendor accounts on Amazon to sell his merchandise. Once the account was activated, Stewart claimed to Amazon that he was shipping valuable items for sale.
“In reality, he did not ship the item and later falsely claimed it was lost, substantiating his false claim with forged documents.” I sent a series of refunds.”
At his sentencing, scheduled for January 23 next year, Stewart faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud charges. He was released on bail before sentencing.
