Two men accused of leading a sophisticated retail-theft and refund-fraud ring that allegedly obtained $5.6 million in merchandise from four online retailers were scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, November 13, at 11:00 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Seattle, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington announced. Brian Vinh Pham, 29, of Arlington, Texas, and Romar Aragon Noto, 22, of North Hills, California, face a three-count indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said in the announcement, issued on Thursday, November 12.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
According to the indictment, between April 2023 and February 2026 Pham and Noto led a ring that transported stolen property across the country, including into the Western District of Washington. Prosecutors say the men stole merchandise by exploiting retailers' return policies and obtaining fraudulent refunds, and by exploiting a glitch on one retailer's website. They then sold the stolen goods directly to consumers, to other third-party resellers and to wholesalers, and allegedly collected more than $3 million selling stolen goods.
Empty envelopes, scanned labels and refunds for goods that never went back
The indictment details how the group targeted four retailers to obtain more than $3.2 million worth of goods through fraudulent refunds. After ordering merchandise, the group would initiate returns with retailers who paid refunds when the return shipping labels were scanned. Prosecutors say the ring used a variety of tactics to make it appear the return packages had been shipped, while never actually returning the stolen goods.
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For one home-improvement retailer, identified in the indictment only as Retailer 2, prosecutors say the group obtained $124,000 in refunds over a five-month period for more than 200 expander tools, affixing the return labels to empty envelopes or boxes. Pham and Noto then sold the expander tools via Amazon Marketplace for $96,000, according to the indictment.
In a second example, over a 10-month period the co-conspirators allegedly obtained more than $162,000 in refunds for more than 350 tankless water heaters they failed to return. About 297 of the water heaters were sold on Amazon Marketplace for more than $181,000. In total, prosecutors say that victim was defrauded of more than 2,800 items valued at more than $1.4 million.
The tumbler glitch: 7,000 orders coordinated on Discord
Retailer 1, a manufacturer of insulated stainless-steel tumblers, issued refunds totalling more than $53,000 for over 1,000 tumblers that were never returned, the indictment says. The same retailer was then hit a second way: a glitch on its website cancelled bulk orders but still fulfilled and shipped some of those cancelled orders without payment. Prosecutors say the group used the messaging platform Discord to coordinate placing more than 7,000 orders, seeking more than 150,000 tumblers valued at about $6.5 million, and successfully obtained more than 55,000 tumblers worth approximately $2.4 million through 2,700 orders. The tumblers were stored in warehouses in Texas and California before being sold on Amazon Marketplace, to third-party resellers and to wholesalers.
The other two retailers were clothing sellers. Retailer 3 was allegedly defrauded of 15,000 pieces of clothing worth over $1 million, with the clothes sold in bulk to other third-party resellers. Retailer 4 was allegedly defrauded of clothing worth $767,000 in some 900 orders where a refund was claimed but the goods were not returned.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. Pham and Noto are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
To run the scheme, prosecutors say, the co-conspirators set up various business entities and bank accounts. Both men are charged with money laundering for transferring their proceeds from one of their business accounts to another account. Conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property is punishable by up to five years in prison, and money laundering is punishable by up to ten years in prison, if they are convicted.
The case was investigated by the FBI. With the arraignment held in federal court in Seattle on Friday, the case now proceeds in the Western District of Washington, where the indictment says stolen property was transported into the district. No trial date was announced in the U.S. Attorney's release. For shoppers and small resellers in Washington and across the country, the case is a reminder of how large-scale refund fraud works: goods that appear to be bargain stock on online marketplaces may, prosecutors allege, have been obtained through fake returns and never paid for at all.