A Dearborn, Michigan man has been sentenced to three years in prison for orchestrating a fraudulent refund scheme that defrauded retailers of over $4 million. Sajed Al-Maarej, 27, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle and will also serve three years of supervised release. The announcement was made by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Teal L. Miller.
Al-Maarej ran the operation known as "Simple Refunds" through Telegram, where he and his team impersonated purchasers to secure refunds while allowing customers to keep the items they ordered. This scheme led to significant financial losses for retailers and drew young adults into criminal activities.
U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik commented on the impact of the fraud at sentencing, stating that it posed a "difficult and expensive proposition" for victim companies and emphasized the need to convey that such behavior is criminal.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Teal L. Miller remarked on how Al-Maarej misled many young individuals into participating in the illegal scheme under false pretenses, ultimately harming retailers and raising prices for consumers.
The fraudulent activities took place between September 2020 and December 2022, with Al-Maarej falsely representing to buyers that they could retain high-value goods while obtaining refunds from merchants based on false claims about delivery or condition of items.
Al-Maarej also engaged in personal refunding fraud until August 2023, including returning an envelope filled with plastic toy frogs instead of bulky tools for which he received a refund.
His Telegram channel attracted over 1,000 subscribers, with a secondary channel used to showcase successful scams. He targeted young men and even offered a mentorship program charging $6,000 for training others in creating similar scams.
In May 2022, two Snohomish County residents were involved in conspiring with Al-Maarej by ordering merchandise worth thousands of dollars and receiving refunds after falsely claiming non-receipt of deliveries.
Al-Maarej pleaded guilty last summer to wire fraud and mail fraud charges and has been ordered to pay restitution amounting to $4,353,819.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI along with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), with assistance from Amazon, Costco, and Microsoft. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Watts Staniar.