Home US Amazon ‘tried to ruin my husband’s name with false accusations’ I won’t stop until I get revenge on Jeff Bezos

Amazon ‘tried to ruin my husband’s name with false accusations’ I won’t stop until I get revenge on Jeff Bezos

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Amy Nelson's family has been embroiled in a years-long battle against Amazon

An Ohio woman says she wants revenge on Jeff Bezos after Amazon accused her husband of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.

Amy Nelson’s family has been embroiled in a years-long battle against Amazon, and she claims the ordeal has irrevocably changed them.

What started as fraud allegations against Carl Nelson steadily evolved into a full-blown legal battle against one of the most powerful companies in the world.

Now Amy is vowing to ensure that Amazon and its founder, the second richest man in the world, are held accountable for the turmoil allegedly caused to 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 allegations include 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 consequences were immediate and enormous. “The trauma of it is very real,” Amy Nelson recently shared in an interview with the Seattle Times.

The FBI raided their Seattle home, froze the family’s belongings and forced them to uproot their lives.

Amy Nelson’s family has been embroiled in a years-long battle against Amazon

Amy vows to ensure that Amazon and its founder, the world's second-richest man Jeff Bezos, are held accountable for the turmoil she says her family has endured

Amy vows to ensure that Amazon and its founder, the world’s second-richest man Jeff Bezos, are held accountable for the turmoil she says her family has endured

In 2020, Amazon accused Carl Nelson of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving real estate transactions for Amazon Web Services data centers in Northern Virginia.

In 2020, Amazon accused Carl Nelson of participating in a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme involving real estate transactions for Amazon Web Services data centers in Northern Virginia.

Unable to meet their financial obligations, the Nelsons moved several times, eventually settling in Columbus, Ohio.

“Many of the things we’ve lost in the last four years we can never get back. We can never get our house back. We can never get our jobs back. We can never get our reputation back,” Amy complained.

Despite Amazon’s aggressive approach in both civil and criminal cases, the tide began to turn earlier this month.

The Department of Justice has taken the unprecedented step of withdrawing the guilty pleas of two individuals – Kyle Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner – who previously admitted to charges related to the alleged scheme.

Federal prosecutors stated that pursuing the case was “not in the best interests of justice” and also decided not to file charges against other accused parties, including Carl Nelson.

“This is yet another indication that Amazon’s claims have no merit whatsoever,” said JD 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 post shared to her TikTok, Amy shared her relief.

Amy Nelson vows to ensure Amazon is held accountable for the alleged turmoil inflicted on her family

Amy Nelson vows to ensure Amazon is held accountable for the alleged turmoil inflicted on her family

For Amy, the struggle is deeply personal. Through interviews, social media posts and public speaking engagements, she has taken a prominent role in challenging Amazon's narrative

For Amy, the struggle is deeply personal. Through interviews, social media posts and public speaking engagements, she has taken a prominent role in challenging Amazon’s narrative

Amy Nelson continues to update her followers online about the family's battle with Amazon

Amy Nelson continues to update her followers 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

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

“Jeff Bezos and Amazon secretly accused (my husband) of a crime. The DOJ seized our bank accounts, the FBI assessed our home under surveillance of our four little girls, Amazon sued my husband for antitrust and racketeering in federal court, and we lost our home to pay lawyers.

“And today the DOJ returned the money, dropped the investigation and refused to impress anyone. Because U.S. Attorney Jessica Ava said it was “not in the interests of justice,” Amy wrote.

But even now, Amazon is not giving in 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,” said Amazon spokesman Rob Munoz, defending the company’s efforts to recover damages and pursue justice.

“Given the egregious facts we have uncovered regarding this misconduct, we truly have no choice but to act to protect our interests and move forward with our civil case.”

For Amy, the struggle 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 is not a game. This is a life or a livelihood. And you can’t escape it by saying: it’s my job. It’s your choice.’

The FBI raided their Seattle home, froze the family's belongings and forced them to uproot their lives. The family has now moved to Columbus, Ohio

The FBI raided their Seattle home, froze the family’s belongings and forced them to uproot their lives. The family has now moved to Columbus, Ohio

Amy said the family of four young girls could do nothing but watch as the FBI raided their home

Amy said the family of four young girls could do nothing but watch as the FBI raided their home

“When you’re living in ongoing legal trauma, it can be hard to even breathe. And if you are an attorney representing large corporations going after individuals, families or small businesses, consider 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 children’s birthday parties. While we drink coffee in the morning. During the commute. It’s always there, always.’

Another post celebrated her family’s resilience: “Amazon’s lawyers at Gibson Dunn paid tens of millions of dollars and had unprecedented access to DOJ… And WE won. We defeated them. We had the truth, but they had all the benefits.”

The legal battle has taken its toll on the family, which consists of four young girls. Amy’s company, The Riveter, originally a co-working space for women, was rebranded due to 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 strives to rebuild their lives.

Amy has continued to highlight the vast power imbalance between individuals and corporations, along with the ethical questions surrounding corporate influence over federal investigations

Amy has continued to highlight the vast power imbalance between individuals and corporations, along with the ethical questions surrounding corporate influence over federal investigations

Despite the case being dismissed, Amy's anger remains palpable as she now faces a civil case

Despite the case being dismissed, Amy’s anger remains palpable as she now faces a civil case

Alex Little, one of Carl’s lawyers, accused Amazon of using the DOJ as “a tool” to advance its own interests. “This effort has failed,” he said, pointing to the vacated guilty pleas as what he views as 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 transactions, noting that the company’s own contract authorized the disputed actions.

Even though the case has been dropped, Amy is still angry with the big box store.

“We just fought a huge battle against the pillars of society in Seattle,” she said, reflecting on the years spent challenging one of the world’s largest companies. ‘It was very personal.’

Her fight is far from over and Amy seems determined to restore her husband’s family and reputation, even as some lingering legal issues remain unresolved.

‘We chose to fight hard for the truth, for each other and for our family. We survived. Now we work for justice,” she posted online.

“The trauma of living in legal hell is indescribable,” she wrote. ‘But survive? That is a victory in itself.’

DailyMail.com has contacted the DOJ, Amazon and Gibson Dunn for comment.

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