Hey Alexa: Colorado woman gets federal prison sentence for stealing $483k from Amazon

A 37-year-old Denver, Colorado, woman received a one-year and one-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to committing wire fraud in a scheme where she defrauded her employer, Amazon.

Tiffany Vo received that sentence plus three years of supervised release; she must also pay $483,393.58 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

From the summer of 2020 to June 2022, Vo worked for Amazon. She administered virtual employee programs during the coronavirus pandemic.

During that time, she created a scheme where she fabricated invoices and expense reports to claim reimbursement for about $483,393.58 of supposed corporate event expenditures for events that never happened.

Vo used the stolen money on personal expenses including "designer handbags and sunglasses, payments toward her condo, two vehicles, exercise equipment, and thousands of dollars of beauty products," a release said.

“White collar crimes like this one cause financial impact to not just corporate entities, but to consumers and taxpayers,” Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch said. “This office will continue to prosecute criminals who exploit access for personal gain.”

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek said the FBI worked hard to crack this embezzlement case.

“Instead of working for her employer, this defendant was furtively working against her employer. Over the course of her deception, she stole nearly $500,000 and used the money to live exorbitantly beyond her means,” Michalek said. “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.”