⏱ 2 min read
Cody Cavallaro, a 31-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, orchestrated a massive online retail theft scheme, stealing merchandise from online retailers between March 2022 and April 2025. Cavallaro, along with his co-conspirators, used hundreds of false names, email addresses, and telephone numbers to place orders and circumvent loss-prevention systems. The scheme involved submitting fraudulent return requests, manipulating shipping labels, and selling the stolen merchandise on third-party online platforms like Amazon and Mercari.
The scheme was elaborate, with Cavallaro using different versions of his delivery address, including adding a fictional “13th Floor” to his two-story single-family home. After receiving the merchandise, Cavallaro and his co-conspirators would submit fake return requests, prompting the retailers to provide digital copies of shipping labels. These labels were then digitally manipulated to alter the printed delivery address, allowing Cavallaro to keep the merchandise and receive a refund.
Cavallaro’s resale activity was also shrouded in deceit. When an Amazon loss prevention investigator contacted him in late 2023, Cavallaro provided a fabricated invoice from another retailer for $74,998.50. However, in September 2022, Amazon uncovered a portion of the scheme and issued “charge backs” on Cavallaro’s American Express credit card totaling $1.
Cavallaro’s scam eventually caught up with him, and he was sentenced to a year and one month in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The sentence serves as a warning to those engaging in online retail theft schemes, highlighting the consequences of such crimes.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: South Carolina
- Location: VA
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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