Two Canton men charged with defrauding Amazon out of more than $50,000

LANSING (WWJ) Two Canton men have been charged for defrauding Amazon out of more than $50,000.

According to a press release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Amazon’s internal investigations contacted her Department in February after the company identified 32 accounts engaging in apparent retail fraud. All of the accounts were linked to or controlled by Ali Habash, 28.

Habash is accused of using the accounts six times between 2020 and 2023 to order expensive products including Apple laptops and gold coins; and requesting refunds while he kept the merchandise to resell for a profit.

“The alleged scheme involved requesting return authorization, and either shipping materially different items of lesser value or failing to ship anything whatsoever back to Amazon,”a press release read.

Ahmed Al-Bahia, 22, was charged for working together with Habash on another instance of “alleged fraud” in 2021, resulting in the loss of several thousands of dollars to Amazon.

Habash has been arraigned on six counts of False Pretenses: $1,000 or More but Less Than $20,000, one count of Uttering and Publishing, one count of Forgery, and one count of Continuing a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony.

Al-Bahia has been arraigned on one count of False Pretenses: $1,000 or More but Less Than $20,000.

“This case involves both massive sums of money and an online retailer familiar to all Michigan consumers,” Nessel said in the press release. “Refund process manipulation, resulting in effectively freely obtained merchandise to be re-sold for a profit, is no less a crime than physical push-out thefts or simple shoplifting.”

Habash will be back in court on August 9th, and Al-Bahia on August 2nd.