An Atlanta woman has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison as part of a fraud scheme that stole nearly $10 million from Amazon, prosecutors say.
According to officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, 40-year-old Brittany Hudson and the woman with whom she was in a romantic relationship used fake vendors and invoices to steal the money.
Officials say Hudson owned a business that contracted with Amazon and was in a relationship with Kayricka Wortham, who worked as an operations manager at the company’s warehouse in Smyrna.
From around January to June 2022, the couple tricked unknowing subordinates into adding fake vendors to the company’s system, authorities said. They then sent in forged invoices that showed the fake vendors had provided Amazon with various goods and services. In her position, Wortham approved the invoices, transferring $9.4…
THE TUTUKA POWER STATION PROCUREMENT FRAUD (ESKOM)
Date: August 29, 2025 Perpetrator: Jessie Phindile Kubheka (Supplier Director)
Case Description: As part of the ongoing “cleaning up” of Eskom, Jessie Phindile Kubheka was sentenced to 12 years (with 5 years suspended) for defrauding the Tutuka Power Station. The case involved a sophisticated procurement syndicate that exploited Eskom’s emergency repair protocols. Kubheka’s company was contracted to deliver three high-specification containers for the power station. Only one container was ever delivered, and even that single unit failed to meet the required safety and technical specifications.
Despite the lack of delivery, Kubheka issued grossly inflated invoices, defrauding the utility of approximately R2.6 million. The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court ordered Kubheka to repay the full amount. This case is significant because it marks a shift in Eskom’s strategy toward “naming and shaming” suppliers and pursuing full asset recovery. It serves as a stark warning to contractors that the 2026 climate of “Zero Tolerance” for state-owned enterprise (SOE) fraud is backed by active judicial enforcement.
Link to Original: Eskom Official – Tutuka Fraud Sentencing