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A former Amazon worker from Hartford told a judge that a long-running gambling addiction drove him to commit his crimes, and on January 6 he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. He admitted to scamming Amazon out of more than $167,000 by taking advantage of the company’s employee rewards program, according to court records.
Terrell Kimble, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 18 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $167,115.69 in restitution to Amazon.
Kimble held jobs in Connecticut as a regional fleet specialist and area manager, which gave him access to Amazon’s internal rewards system, known as Peak. The program, run through a purchasing platform called Coupa, lets managers order free Amazon products to reward employees for good work.
Prosecutors said that from July 2021 through December 2022, Kimble made more than 200 fake orders in the system, claiming the items were going to employees. Instead, they were shipped to his mother’s house for his own use. The orders included pricey electronics like iPad Pros, AirPods, Apple Watches, and Nintendo Switch consoles.
Hartford Amazon worker says gambling addiction fueled fraud
In a letter to the court before sentencing, the Connecticut Post reported that Kimble said a long-running gambling addiction played a big role in what he did. He wrote that losing money, often while drinking. left him feeling trapped, depressed, and desperate. After losing money, he said he would return home and order more products through the Amazon system to generate funds to continue gambling.
“Every time I took another item I always said this will be the last time,” Kimble wrote, adding that gambling losses left him feeling “worthless” and pushed him to keep ordering items to sell or use in order to keep going.
Kimble’s lawyer, Allison Kahl, urged the judge to give him probation instead of prison, saying jail time would disrupt his treatment for medical, mental health, and gambling problems. She also argued that Amazon was planning to write off the stolen merchandise, so the company wouldn’t take a direct financial hit.
Prosecutors pushed back, saying the case wasn’t about how the losses were recorded on Amazon’s books. They said it was about Kimble repeatedly lying and abusing a system that was meant to reward other employees.
“Each time he entered an order, often for multiple high end electronic items, he decided to commit a crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller wrote in court filings.
Prosecutors also pointed to Kimble’s long criminal record, which includes 14 prior convictions. Among them were first-degree assault and robbery from a 2005 case in which he shot someone during a drug deal. They said he has spent more than 12 years behind bars over the course of his life.
Kimble was arrested in August 2024 and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June 2025. He’s currently out on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to report to prison on March 20.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, with help from local police.
Featured image: Todd Van Hoosear via WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 2.0
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The Washington State Gambling Commission and the Squaxin Island Tribe have struck a tentative deal to update the Tribe’s Class III gaming compact, a step that would streamline and modernize the rules that govern the Tribe’s casino operations. The proposal, known as the seventh amendment, essentially rolls the original 1993 agreement and its six previous updates into one clear, up-to-date document.
Commission Chair Alicia Levy said the goal of the new agreement is to make sure the compact reflects today’s regulatory standards, economic realities, and public health priorities. “The proposed amendment modernizes the existing compact by adopting a balanced approach that supports economic development, regulatory consistency, and public health and safety,” Levy said in a press release. “The added safeguards and community-focused commitments strengthen responsible gaming requirements.”

Squaxin Island Tribe reaches tentative agreement with Gambling Commission on proposed gaming compact amendmenthttps://t.co/KnYxUBnISB
— WA Gambling Comm (@WAGambling) January 9, 2026

Squaxin Island Tribal Chairman Kris Peters said the agreement would help keep a strong financial base in place for both the tribal government and the wider community. “The Tribe is pleased to have reached agreement with the Washington State Gambling Commission on a modernized gaming compact,” Peters said. “The compact continues to be a key source of funding for essential government services and employment, benefitting both tribal and community members.”
Updated Squaxin Island Tribe gaming compact reflects broader changes in Washington
The Gambling Commission says the proposed amendment pulls together many provisions that already appear in other tribal gaming agreements around Washington, while also adding some rules tailored specifically to the Squaxin Tribe. Under the deal, the Tribe would be allowed to introduce electronic table games, extend credit to players, and lift per-casino limits on gaming devices. It would also let players wager up to $30 on tribal lottery terminals.
Betting limits would go up as well, with table games allowing wagers of up to $1,000, and a small number of tables able to offer bets as high as $5,000 for customers who have been screened and approved. The agreement also updates how the Tribe contributes to emergency services, government operations, and nonprofit and charitable groups. On the public health side, it would require a non-smoking room if smoking is allowed elsewhere in the casino and strengthen responsible-gaming rules around staff training, self-exclusion programs, signage, and player-set betting limits.
The tentative deal now heads into a formal approval process that includes state lawmakers, regulators, tribal leaders, and the federal government. Notices have already gone out to the Governor, the Legislature, and other interested parties. The Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee is set to hold a public hearing on January 21, 2026, followed by a House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee hearing on February 10.
The Gambling Commission is expected to vote on February 12 on whether to send the amendment to the Governor. If it clears that step, it would then go to Chairman Kris Peters for final tribal approval and signature, and after that to the Governor. If both sign off, the agreement would be sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior for federal review and, if approved, publication in the Federal Register.
The Squaxin Island deal follows similar tentative agreements the Commission reached with other Washington tribes in late 2025. In December, regulators announced updated compacts with the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, both of which would allow electronic table games, with the Upper Skagit deal also including changes to smoking rules at its casino.
Featured image: Canva
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Virginia has become the latest in an ever-growing line of states moving to block online sweepstakes casinos.
Joining states like Mississippi, New York, Indiana, and more, Virginia Delegate Marcus Simon pre-filed House Bill 161 (HB161) on January 6, with plans to introduce it to the state’s House of Delegates on January 14. The bill would prohibit any form of sweepstakes gambling not conducted by a licensed operator in Virginia, outside of online casino gambling.

Virginia becomes the 5th state to propose a ban on sweepstakes casinos in the 2026 legislative session, joining Maine, Indiana, Florida and Mississippi. Virginia’s proposed sweeps ban is part of the iGaming bill introduced earlier this week. HB 161: https://t.co/SsJ5rUHZs1 pic.twitter.com/QtxWrtkgC9
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) January 11, 2026

Any violations of this bill, if approved, would lead to “a civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for the first offense and not more than $250,000 for the second and each subsequent offense. Each day that such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense”.
“The Board, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Department of State Police may conduct investigations into violations of this section,” reads HB161. “The Board and the Office of the Attorney General shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this section, including conducting hearings, issuing cease and desist letters, and issuing subpoenas to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section.”
A wave of anti-sweepstakes bills
In the first two weeks of 2026 alone, Virginia is the fifth state to propose such a ban, alongside Florida, Indiana, and Maine. Further states also pursued such legislation in 2025, including New York.
If approved, HB161 would allow approved operators to pursue internet gaming outside of sweepstakes, according to certain regulations. They would be required to pay an initial licensing fee of $500,000 and a renewal fee of $250,000, as well as a 15% tax on adjusted gross internet gaming revenue. That increased tax revenue for the state would go to funds associated with problem gambling, among other state priorities.
In Mississippi, lawmakers are trying to shut down online sweepstakes casinos completely. Under the proposal, pretty much any kind of online or computer-based gambling would be illegal, and that could mean hefty fines, possible jail time, and even having assets seized.
Featured image: Unsplash
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