It was a pure gold scam with an iron bar end.
A third-party seller on Amazon.com has pleaded guilty to conducting a complex money-back scam that broke into the online retail platform to the tune of $1.3 million, which he then used to purchase gold and silver bars.
Ting Hong Yong, 41, of Hacienda Heights, Calif., admitted to having set up multiple seller accounts on AMZN,
He had run the scam, offering expensive items but never shipping them, dating back to 2013.
Prosecutors said Young came up with a way to manipulate Amazon’s system to pay third-party sellers to make sure cash from fake sales got into his accounts before an angry buyer demanded a refund.
Young faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in April. Prosecutors say he agreed to pay compensation, in part from the piles of gold and silver bullion that were confiscated from his home when he was arrested.
The letter sent to Young’s attorney was not immediately returned.
Bait and switch
According to court documents, Yeung had been creating and managing seller accounts normally for some time until he was eventually cleared for selling more expensive products. It then offers high-cost furniture and home décor items at lower prices than other sellers on the site.
When the buyer ordered the item, the money will be held in the seller’s Yeung’s Amazon account for up to two weeks. Prosecutors said it would then enter a false tracking number that would eventually allow payments to be processed.
Finally, when the buyer complains that the item has not been delivered, Yeung responds with messages that the shipment is delayed or with some other explanation that may cause the buyer to not immediately apply for a refund through the Amazon system.
Prosecutors said this would allow enough time for Amazon to deposit the money into Young’s bank account. When the buyer finally files a refund, Amazon will see that there wasn’t enough money in the seller’s Yeung account to fulfill the refund, so the company will pay the buyer themselves under the terms of the A-to-Z Warranty Program.
In some cases, Yeung has admitted sending cheap crystal trinkets to buyers to generate a tracking number and as part of efforts to defer filing a refund request.
““This looks like a scam.”“
“Hello. I received a crystal decoration and a message that my sofa will be arriving from March 6-18. Please advise why the item you ordered was marked as “delivered” when I have not received the item I purchased yet. This looks like a scam. Thank you, “A buyer wrote to Yeung in 2020, according to court filings.
“Hello. How are we a scam? The shipping day of your order is Mon. Mar 2, 2020 to Fri. Mar 6, 2020. Delivery: Fri/6 Mar 2020 to Wed. March 18, 2020. May I know, do you want a full refund?” Young replied.
In some other cases, prosecutors said Young would use stolen credit card information to purchase actual items promised to buyers from other sellers. He shipped it to the buyer and charged the purchase price. But he will then ask for a refund for the product he bought saying it’s not what he ordered or is damaged. He then sends out a different item that is cheaper and then collects the refund as well.
In all, investigators say Young stole $1.3 million from Amazon over a seven-year period.
