A former manager of an Amazon warehouse in Georgia was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for being the mastermind of a $10 million scheme that allegedly involved an Alabama man.

Kayricka Wortham, who was an operations manager at the retailer’s Smyrna, Georgia, warehouse from August 2020 to March 2022, submitted more than $10 million in fake invoices to bogus vendors, which resulted in Amazon paying her $9.4 million, federal prosecutors in Atlanta said Wednesday.

Wortham, who also goes by “Kayricka Dupree” and “Kayricka Young,” pleaded guilty in November to federal fraud charges.

She was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr., to 16 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Wortham was also ordered to pay Amazon more than $9.4 million in restitution.

Prosecutors identified Wortham as the mastermind of the fraud.

She “abused her position of trust at Amazon to steal nearly $10 million from the company based on a brazen fraud scheme involving fake vendors and fictitious invoices,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan in a statement. “She then committed new crimes while on bond, even creating a fake dismissal document purporting to be from the court and that included the forged signature of the Chief U.S. District Judge, all for the purpose of misleading a franchising company about the status of her criminal charges. Her prison sentence recognizes the magnitude of her fraud and serves to protect the integrity of our courts and justice system.”

More than $2.7 million of Wortham’s ill-gotten gains were seized from multiple bank accounts, a $1 million home in Smyrna prosecutors say she bought with a co-conspirator and vehicles purchased with money obtained through the scheme.

Seven people, including 47-year-old Calera resident Jamar L. James, Sr., have been charged in connection with the scheme.

James, a former operations manager at an Amazon location in Duluth, Georgia, was charged last month with conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The case against him is pending.

While out on bond, Wortham committed new crimes that led to her bond being revoked, prosecutors said.

She was working with CRU Franchising Company to open a hookah lounge in Midtown Atlanta. When the company found out about the Amazon fraud charges and asked her about it before closing on the lounge deal, Wortham lied and said the offenses were dismissed and sent CRU fake documents forging a judge’s signature, according to prosecutors.

Wortham was also indicted for allegedly defrauding CRU and forging the judge’s signature. Those charged remain pending.

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the case.

“The Secret Service takes cases of fraud extremely seriously,” said Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Atlanta Field Office Steven R. Baisel in a statement. “This individual stole millions from a business that employed her – exploiting not only their trust, but our nation’s financial systems. Thanks to the hard work of our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s office, her sentence reflects the seriousness of her crimes and sends a message that this kind of fraudulent activity will not be tolerated.”