Employees work on the campus of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. (Courtesy Amazon)
A Denver woman is accused of robbing Amazon of nearly $500,000 and spending her ill-gotten gains on a Range Rover, beauty products and luxury handbags.
Tiffany Vo, 36, was charged April 9 with one count of wire fraud, a felony punishable by up to two decades in prison and a fine of $250,000. On Tuesday, Vo’s lawyer told a judge that she wishes to plead guilty after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors.
In the meantime, the government has seized her 2020 Range Rover and a handful of Chanel handbags, believing that Vo bought them to launder some of the stolen money.
“We appreciate the support of the authorities in bringing this matter to closure,” said Amazon spokeswoman Zoe Hoffman, “and have worked closely with them throughout the process.”
Vo’s attorney, Jason Schall at Bowlin & Schall in Greenwood Village, declined to comment.
Between 2017 and her firing five years later, Vo ran Amazon’s onboarding program for executive-level employees, which the company refers to as “Escape Velocity,” according to an affidavit written by Special Agent Christine Norman in the FBI’s Denver office.
Escape Velocity is a three-day event held in Seattle every other month that includes catered meals, happy hours and trainings. As a coordinator of the event, Vo would initially pay for the catering and booze, then be reimbursed by Amazon, according to Norman.
After Escape Velocity became a virtual event in spring 2020, there was no need for catering or happy hours. But Vo continued requesting reimbursement from Amazon and was paid $243,000 for food never bought, $56,000 for drinks never ordered and $52,000 for UberEats lunch vouchers that she never purchased, according to the FBI.
When the FBI contacted the caterer and happy hour location in Seattle that Vo claimed to have used, those companies confirmed they hadn’t worked with Amazon since the pandemic began, the FBI alleges. But it was Amazon that first investigated Vo, according to Norman.
“On June 6, 2022, members of Amazon’s business conduct and ethics team, travel and expense reimbursement audit team, and human resources team participated in an interview of Vo,” the FBI affidavit said. “Vo initially denied the allegations and claimed the expenses were legitimate. However, upon being shown the evidence, Vo eventually admitted to submitting fictitious and fraudulent expenses…Vo was subsequently terminated.”
Prosecutors say that Vo submitted 51 false invoices that earned her $345,000 and also spent $120,000 from a company credit card on personal expenses — including beauty products, clothes and accessories — between September 2020 and her firing in 2022.
The government is not asking that Vo be arrested or imprisoned while the case proceeds. On Tuesday, her lawyer, Schall, wrote to the judge in the case to say that Vo “has reached a disposition with the government” and needs to schedule a change-of-plea hearing.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Weber in Denver. Her office declined to comment on the Vo case this week because it is ongoing.
Employees work on the campus of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. (Courtesy Amazon)
A Denver woman is accused of robbing Amazon of nearly $500,000 and spending her ill-gotten gains on a Range Rover, beauty products and luxury handbags.
Tiffany Vo, 36, was charged April 9 with one count of wire fraud, a felony punishable by up to two decades in prison and a fine of $250,000. On Tuesday, Vo’s lawyer told a judge that she wishes to plead guilty after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors.
In the meantime, the government has seized her 2020 Range Rover and a handful of Chanel handbags, believing that Vo bought them to launder some of the stolen money.
“We appreciate the support of the authorities in bringing this matter to closure,” said Amazon spokeswoman Zoe Hoffman, “and have worked closely with them throughout the process.”
Vo’s attorney, Jason Schall at Bowlin & Schall in Greenwood Village, declined to comment.
Between 2017 and her firing five years later, Vo ran Amazon’s onboarding program for executive-level employees, which the company refers to as “Escape Velocity,” according to an affidavit written by Special Agent Christine Norman in the FBI’s Denver office.
Escape Velocity is a three-day event held in Seattle every other month that includes catered meals, happy hours and trainings. As a coordinator of the event, Vo would initially pay for the catering and booze, then be reimbursed by Amazon, according to Norman.
After Escape Velocity became a virtual event in spring 2020, there was no need for catering or happy hours. But Vo continued requesting reimbursement from Amazon and was paid $243,000 for food never bought, $56,000 for drinks never ordered and $52,000 for UberEats lunch vouchers that she never purchased, according to the FBI.
When the FBI contacted the caterer and happy hour location in Seattle that Vo claimed to have used, those companies confirmed they hadn’t worked with Amazon since the pandemic began, the FBI alleges. But it was Amazon that first investigated Vo, according to Norman.
“On June 6, 2022, members of Amazon’s business conduct and ethics team, travel and expense reimbursement audit team, and human resources team participated in an interview of Vo,” the FBI affidavit said. “Vo initially denied the allegations and claimed the expenses were legitimate. However, upon being shown the evidence, Vo eventually admitted to submitting fictitious and fraudulent expenses…Vo was subsequently terminated.”
Prosecutors say that Vo submitted 51 false invoices that earned her $345,000 and also spent $120,000 from a company credit card on personal expenses — including beauty products, clothes and accessories — between September 2020 and her firing in 2022.
The government is not asking that Vo be arrested or imprisoned while the case proceeds. On Tuesday, her lawyer, Schall, wrote to the judge in the case to say that Vo “has reached a disposition with the government” and needs to schedule a change-of-plea hearing.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Weber in Denver. Her office declined to comment on the Vo case this week because it is ongoing.
