An Amazon employee is accused of taking $4,000 worth of customer’s items and gift cards then shipping empty boxes to them, deputies say.

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Elvis Edgardo Soto, 20, took items including several iPhone cases, screen protectors, eyebrow pomade and a toy pony, while he worked at an Amazon fulfillment center, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

An employee became suspicious when gift cards were redeemed six hours after they were issued. Soto was linked to multiple suspicious redemptions. He told investigators he would keep the items he wanted and then send out empty boxes.

Soto was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony third-degree grand theft. He was released after posting $500 bond.

Amazon said it reimbursed customers who received empty packages. The company also said it no longer employed Soto.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Apartment complex community members look at the stuffed animals, snacks and drinks that rest at the base of a basketball goal with balloons in memoriam of Ja’Nylen Greggs in Atlanta on Friday, June 20, 2025. The apartment complex community is mourning 12-year-old Greggs after he was killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

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