By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-19 00:36:25 | Updated at 2025-01-19 03:18:47
2 hours ago
A woman from Ohio says she wants to get revenge on Jeff Bezos after Amazon accused her husband of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.
Amy Nelson's family have been embroiled in a years-long battle against Amazon, and she claims the ordeal has left them irrevocably changed.
What began as allegations of fraud against Carl Nelson steadily evolved into a full blown legal fight against one of the most powerful companies in the world.
Now, Amy is vowing to ensure Amazon and its founder, the world's second richest man, are held accountable for the turmoil allegedly inflicted on her family.
In 2020, Amazon accused Carl Nelson, a former employee, of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving real estate deals for Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in Northern Virginia.
The accusations included claims that Carl and his colleague, Casey Kirschner, conspired with Colorado real estate developer Brian Watson to defraud the tech giant through overpriced land deals, pocketing kickbacks in the process.
The pair were accused of illegally profiting from over $500 million in Amazon real estate development projects in exchange for more than $33 million in kickbacks that were laundered through a series of shell entities.
The fallout was immediate and immense. 'The trauma of it is very real,' Amy Nelson shared in a recent interview with the Seattle Times.
Amy Nelson's family have been embroiled in a years-long battle against Amazon
Amy is vowing to ensure Amazon and its founder, the world's second richest man Jeff Bezos, are held accountable for the turmoil she says has been inflicted on her family
In 2020, Amazon accused Carl Nelson of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving real estate deals for Amazon Web Services data centers in Northern Virginia
The FBI raided their Seattle home and froze the family's assets, and forcing them to uproot their lives.
Unable to sustain their financial obligations, the Nelsons moved multiple times, ultimately settling in Columbus, Ohio.
'Many of the things that we lost over the past four years, we can never get back. We can never get our home back. We can never get our jobs back. We can never get our reputation back,' Amy lamented.
Despite Amazon's aggressive pursuit of both civil and criminal cases, the tide began to turn and earlier this month.
The Department of Justice took the unprecedented step of vacating the guilty pleas of two individuals - Kyle Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner - who had previously admitted to charges related to the alleged scheme.
Federal prosecutors stated that continuing the case was 'not in the best interests of justice' and also decided not to pursue charges against other accused parties, including Carl Nelson.
'This is another indication that there is no merit to Amazon's claims,' said J.D. Thomas, Carl's attorney, celebrating the DOJ's decision as a step toward vindication.
'We look forward to … finally closing this unfortunate chapter,' Thomas said.
In a posting shared to her TikTok, Amy shared her relief.
Amy Nelson is vowing to ensure Amazon are held accountable for the alleged turmoil inflicted on her family
For Amy, the fight is deeply personal. Through interviews, social media posts and public speaking engagements, she has taken on a prominent role in challenging Amazon's narrative
Amy Nelson has continued to keep followers updated online about the family's battle with Amazon
Amazon Web Services accused Carl of conspiring with Colorado real estate developer Brian Watson to defraud the tech giant through overpriced land deals, pocketing kickbacks in the process
'Jeff Bezos and Amazon secretly accused [my husband] of a crime. The DOJ seized our bank accounts, the FBI rated our home with our four little girls watching, Amazon sued my husband for anti-trust and racketeering in federal court, and we lost our house to pay lawyers.
'And today, the DOJ returned the money and dropped the investigation and refused to impress anyone. Because US attorney Jessica Ava said it 'wasn't in the interest of justice',' Amy wrote.
But even now, Amazon is not backing down and the company plans to continue its civil lawsuit against Carl Nelson and others.
'These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to obtain millions of dollars in kickbacks related to Amazon real estate projects and there is extensive evidence to prove it,' Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said, defending the company's efforts to recoup damages and pursue justice.
'Given that evidence and the egregious facts we've uncovered related to this misconduct, we must act to protect our interests and will move forward with our civil case.'
For Amy, the fight is deeply personal. Through interviews, social media posts and public speaking engagements, she has challenged Amazon's narrative.
In a fiery Instagram post, she wrote, 'This isn't a game. This is a life or a livelihood. And you can't escape it by saying, well, it's my job. It's your choice.'
The FBI raided their Seattle home, freezing the family's assets and forcing them to uproot their lives. The family have now moved to Columbus, Ohio
Amy said the family of four young girls could do nothing but watch as the FBI raided their home
'When you live in sustained legal trauma, it can be hard to even breathe. And if you are a lawyer who represents big companies going after individuals, families or small businesses, please remember the human cost of it all,' she wrote.
'You can stop billing and go home. We live with it every minute of every day. At our kids' birthday parties. While we drink coffee in the morning. During the commute. It is always, always there.'
Another post celebrated her family's resilience: 'Amazon's lawyers at Gibson Dunn have been paid tens of millions of dollars and had unprecedented access to DOJ… And WE won. We beat them. We had the truth, but they had every advantage.'
The legal fight has exacted a toll on the family that includes four young girls. Amy's company, The Riveter, originally a co-working space for women, was rebranded amid financial and logistical challenges.
She is now launching a second company, Cotton Candy and Dreams, to curate family experiences.
Meanwhile, Carl continues to work in commercial real estate as the couple strive to rebuild their lives.
Amy has continued to highlight the massive power imbalance between individuals and corporations together with the ethical questions surrounding corporate influence on federal investigations
Despite the case being dropped, Amy's anger remains palpable, now having to face a civil case
Alex Little, one of Carl's attorneys, accused Amazon of using the DOJ as 'a tool' to further its own interests. 'This effort has failed,' he said, pointing to the vacated guilty pleas as what he considers to be evidence of overreach.
Judge Rossie Alston Jr., who presided over Amazon's civil case, dismissed most of the company's claims last year, citing 'fundamental' flaws in their arguments.
Alston ruled that Amazon could not prove financial harm from the real estate deals, noting that the company's own contract authorized the disputed actions.
Despite the case being dropped, Amy is still angry with big box retailer.
'We just fought a massive battle against pillars of Seattle society,' she said, reflecting on the years spent challenging one of the world's largest corporations. 'It was very personal.'
Her fight is far from over and Amy appears determined to restore the family and her husband's reputation - even while some lingering legal matters unresolved.
'We chose to fight like hell for the truth, one another and our family. We survived. Now we work for justice,' she posted online.
'The trauma of living through legal hell is indescribable,' she wrote. 'But surviving it? That is a victory of its own.'
DailyMail.com has contacted the DOJ and Gibson Dunn for comment.
