A former Amazon employee from Hartford instructed a decide {that a} long-running gambling addiction drove him to commit his crimes, and on January 6 he was sentenced to 18 months in federal jail. He admitted to scamming Amazon out of greater than $167,000 by benefiting from the corporate’s worker rewards program, in keeping with court docket data.
Terrell Kimble, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Choose Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 18 months of imprisonment adopted by three years of supervised launch. He was additionally ordered to pay $167,115.69 in restitution to Amazon.
Kimble held jobs in Connecticut as a regional fleet specialist and space supervisor, which gave him entry to Amazon’s inner rewards system, often known as Peak. This system, run by way of a buying platform known as Coupa, lets managers order free Amazon merchandise to reward staff for good work.
Prosecutors said that from July 2021 by way of December 2022, Kimble made greater than 200 pretend orders within the system, claiming the gadgets had been going to staff. As an alternative, they had been shipped to his mom’s home for his personal use. The orders included dear electronics like iPad Execs, AirPods, Apple Watches, and Nintendo Swap consoles.
Hartford Amazon employee says playing dependancy fueled fraud
In a letter to the court docket earlier than sentencing, the Connecticut Submit reported that Kimble stated a long-running gambling addiction performed a giant position in what he did. He wrote that dropping cash, typically whereas ingesting. left him feeling trapped, depressed, and determined. After dropping cash, he stated he would return house and order extra merchandise by way of the Amazon system to generate funds to proceed playing.
“Each time I took one other merchandise I at all times stated this would be the final time,” Kimble wrote, including that playing losses left him feeling “nugatory” and pushed him to maintain ordering gadgets to promote or use in an effort to preserve going.
Kimble’s lawyer, Allison Kahl, urged the decide to present him probation as an alternative of jail, saying jail time would disrupt his remedy for medical, psychological well being, and playing issues. She additionally argued that Amazon was planning to put in writing off the stolen merchandise, so the corporate wouldn’t take a direct monetary hit.
Prosecutors pushed again, saying the case wasn’t about how the losses had been recorded on Amazon’s books. They stated it was about Kimble repeatedly mendacity and abusing a system that was meant to reward different staff.
“Every time he entered an order, typically for a number of excessive finish digital gadgets, he determined to commit against the law,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Ray Miller wrote in court docket filings.
Prosecutors additionally pointed to Kimble’s lengthy felony document, which incorporates 14 prior convictions. Amongst them had been first-degree assault and theft from a 2005 case during which he shot somebody throughout a drug deal. They stated he has spent greater than 12 years behind bars over the course of his life.
Kimble was arrested in August 2024 and later pleaded responsible to wire fraud in June 2025. He’s at the moment out on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to report back to jail on March 20.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Connecticut Monetary Crimes Activity Power, with assist from native police.
Featured picture: Todd Van Hoosear through WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 2.0
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