By Fox23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — Eleven individuals accused of being involved in an international refund fraud ring targeting online retailers have pleaded guilty and been sentenced for conspiring to commit wire fraud.
We first reported on this case in Nov. 2023 when the original 10 individuals identified as being involved in the scheme were first charged.
From April 2019 through October 19, 2023, law enforcement said the fraud ring, which called itself the Artemis Refund Group (ARG), caused millions of dollars in losses to online retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Dell Technologies, Kate Spade, Dick’s Sporting Goods, HP Inc., Adidas and more.
Authorities said ARG would have individuals purchase a product from an online retailer before contacting the company to ask for a fraudulent refund, making sure they tailored the reason and method specifically to the policies of each individual retailer.
Once the fraudulent refund was given to the customer, the individual was able to keep the product while also regaining its original purchase price.
Law enforcement said ARG typically charged customers around 15% to 20% of the refund issued to the original purchaser.
Several of these fraudulently refunded orders were shipped to people living in the Northern District of Oklahoma, leading to charges being filed in the district.
Authorities said ARG members would also resell stolen items online to make additional money.
Listed below are the 11 defendants who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and the sentence they received:
- Wyatt Douglas Miller (24), from San Marcos, CA — 1 year and 1 day in prison followed by a year of supervised release
- Tyler Dewayne Rogers (24), from Goleta, CA — 4 years and 3 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release
- Kevin Ramses Rocha (24), from Littlerock, CA —2 years and 6 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release
- Jonah Maxwell Fesman (23), from Altadena, CA — 6 months of home detention followed by 2 years of supervised release
- Antonio Ernesto Munoz (24), from Palmdale, CA — 3 years and 1 month in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release
- Juan Manuel Comacho-Zarate (25), from Santa Maria, CA — 3 years of probation and sentenced to pay $4,000 fine
- Cameron David Martin (23), from Winter Garden, FL — 3 years of probation
- Ilyess Hadri Talbi (20), from Columbus, OH — 3 years of probation
- Steven Lin (27), from Philadelphia, PA — 3 years of probation and sentenced to pay $1,500 fine
- Gilbert Immanuel (25), from Lutz, FL — 8 months of home detention followed by 2 years of supervised release
- Prit Patel (24), from Canada — 2 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release
Seven individuals from the Republic of Singapore and one from the United Kingdom involved with ARG still have pending arrest warrants.
