Sung W. Sohn, Office Printer Theft, Pennsylvania 2020

In a brazen scheme, Sung W. Sohn, a 50-year-old resident of Burford, Georgia, exploited a product rewards program offered by Company 1, a manufacturer of office printers and printer supplies, to steal and sell hundreds of office printers.

According to federal authorities, Sohn worked in Philadelphia for a company that purchased printers manufactured by Company 1. The company offered reward points to customers who also purchased ink and toner from Company 1. In June 2017, Sohn used an account number he found on a shipping box and associated it to his employer's rewards account with Company 1. The account number was not for an account actually used by the employer, and it generated far more points than would be possible given his employer's ink and toner purchases.

Sohn then redeemed these improperly obtained reward points in order to receive free printers from Company 1, sold the printers online, and kept the proceeds for his personal use. Sohn fraudulently obtained 604 printers in this way, which was a loss to Company 1 at retail value of $293,000.

On September 18, 2019, Sohn pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with interstate transportation of stolen property related to the scheme he perpetrated in 2017 and 2018.

On May 25, 2023, Chief United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez sentenced Sohn to 12 months' and one day imprisonment, and ordered him to pay $224,000 in restitution.

'This Office takes white collar fraud and theft offenses very seriously,' said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. 'And that's exactly what this was – it was theft. The defendant took advantage of his position with his employer to improperly hoard rewards points and sell printers to which he was not entitled.'

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Albert S. Glenn.

Sohn's case highlights the need for companies to vigilantly monitor their reward programs to prevent exploitation by individuals seeking to make a quick profit.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/georgia-man-sentenced-one-year-prison-exploiting-office-rewards-program-stealing-almost