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Woman accused of making 42,000 Amazon returns on 31 accounts in $100K scam

Deputies have charged her with grand theft.
Credit: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman is accused of making 42,000 individual returns on 31 different accounts in a more than $100,000 Amazon reimbursement scheme.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says 32-year-old Hoai Tibma was involved in the shipping and return scam from March 2015 until August 2020. Investigators say she reused prepaid shipping labels generated for canceled orders and then put them on different returns.

"This tactic would make it appear that she had paid for her own shipping costs on the returns when she actually did not do so," the sheriff's office wrote in a news release.

In all, 31 separate accounts were linked to Timba's name and address, authorities said.

"This woman took advantage of a loophole she discovered in the return process," Sheriff Chad Chronister wrote in a statement. "Through investigative means, our Economic Crimes detectives were able to quickly locate and apprehend the suspect. She was arrested without incident."

Timba was charged with one count of grand theft.

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