Arizona man allegedly used employer’s Amazon account to buy $137K worth of items

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5/Gray News) - An Arizona man is in trouble with the law after Scottsdale police said he used his employer’s Amazon account to buy hundreds of items worth more than $137,000.

Court documents said Darius O’Neal Hickson worked for West Pharmaceuticals in Scottsdale and stole from the company between August 2020 to August 2021. The company has a corporate credit account with Amazon for business purchases.

Investigators said Hickson bought everything from video games and game consoles to BB guns and clothes using that account. All the items were shipped to the business.

When West Pharma confronted him about it, police said Hickson admitted to buying the items, but said he “accidentally” forgot to switch to his personal account.

He also reportedly joked with management he would pay back the debt using a “$5.99 a month payment plan,” court records said. The company flags purchases that are more than $250, but everything purchased was under that, police said.

Detectives said he also took laptops from the company, resold them and received $71,690. Police said West Pharma paid more than $144,000 for the computers.

Hickson also allegedly resold some of the items he bought on Amazon. After an internal investigation, Hickson was no longer with the company, and the police were called in August. He was later arrested at his Florence home.

Prosecutors charged him on Monday with one count of theft, a class 2 felony. His bond was set at $2,500.

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