TruthArchive.ai - Tweets Saved By @Amy_K_Nelson
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Corruption at the FBI isn't a myth. And it impacts real Americans, like my family. Take for example this warrant to raid my home. An agent swore to the truth of the facts in the affidavit. He lied. I can show - but only b/c this document was accidentally unsealed. /1 https://t.co/fEuOxzqoXR
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
The agent told WDWa judge Mary Alice Theiler that $ my husband was allegedly paid was "fraudulent" for one reason.... /2 https://t.co/xB56hxoHbs
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
He swore that Amazon employees weren't authorized to receive referral fees/any compensation paid by developers related to Amazon real estate. Lots of jobs allow such payments - commissions, referral fees, bonuses. This agent swore under oath that this was forbidden at Amazon/3 https://t.co/sxq94sEUyO
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
This is the SOLE reason the alleged payments were deemed "fraudulent" and the sole basis the alleged payments made up probable cause of a crime. Otherwise, the $ would have just been ... a payment. Here is the agent swearing to the truth of the affidavit. /4 https://t.co/5iq13PJsyo
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Federal prosecutors ALSO swore to the truth of this "fact" in a statement of facts used to elicit a plea agreement from a guy who didn't work at Amazon & didn't know what Amazon's contract allowed - or didn't allow. But he pled guilty to helping my husband violate that contract by receiving the "forbidden" payments. Here is the statement in the plea/ 5
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Another agent used this "fact" to file a verified civil forfeiture complaint against every $ my family had in the world - which DOJ seized. The agent said he knew this "fact' PERSONALLY and swore to it under penalty of perjury. Only basis for fraud = payments not authorized/6 https://t.co/sqYy6rCr9m
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
DOJ later confessed they hadn't reviewed my husband's employment terms before seizing $/raiding our home. Judge Rossie Alston ruled that the "explicit terms" in Amazon's contract AUTHORIZED my husband to receive $ from companies doing biz with Amazon. /7 https://t.co/8VJ7Uz9tZ0
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
So, someone told 2 FBI agents and 2 prosecutors - who all made sworn statements to federal judges - a lie about Amazon's employment terms, and used that lie to seize all of our $, raid our home, and dismantle our lives. What do you think happened next? /8
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
US Attorney Jessica Aber vacated the pleas obtained with the lies. DOJ returned the seized $ - after we'd spent hundreds of thousands to get them back. We lost our home (worth 2x now), our retirement, and millions in business contracts. /9 https://www.tiktok.com/@amy_k_nelson/video/7322653492563283230
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
But DOJ didn't make a move to hold Bezos or his lawyers accountable. They'll put Martha Stewart in prison for allegedly lying to DOJ, but I guess if you work for Jeff Bezos it's okay. My life is an okay sacrifice for Jeff and Amazon. /10
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Instead, EDVa DOJ (under Aber) moved to forever seal docs related to the civil forfeiture - after earlier promising Judge Alston they would be unsealed by April 1, 2024. As pulitzer prize winning journalist Seamus Hughes wrote: /11 https://t.co/5IvltF70So
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
So not only is DOJ not holding Amazon accountable - a clear signal that if you're rich enough, you can say whatever you want to prosecutors, force them to lie under oath, and it's totally cool - they're trying to hide the lies. Trump, Bondi and Patel have vowed to end this kind of behavior. I hope they're good to their word. This is a clear and simple test. /12
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
This is an American scandal - with @jeffbezos and @amazon CEO @ajassy at the center of a horrifying scheme. Here is a small part of our story: Amazon using civil forfeiture to leave my babies penniless and then suing my husband in civil court knowing he had no money. It gets worse. /1
@FreeRangeLawyer - Rob Johnson
Tomorrow, I'm flying to Los Angeles for oral argument in what may be the most important Fourth Amendment case pending in the United States today. The basic facts: The FBI broke open and searched hundreds of safe deposit boxes without any reason to think the boxholders did anything wrong. U.S. Private Vaults, a business in Beverly Hills, offered a private and secure place where people could store their most valued, sensitive possessions. In March 2021, the FBI raided USPV, broke open every single box in the vault, and looked through all the contents. The FBI ran all cash in the vault by drug dogs, opened envelopes and photographed the contents, and ultimately sent everything worth over $5,000 to asset forfeiture---initiating proceedings to keep that property forever.
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Amazon asked DOJ to seize my husband’s $$. DOJ obliged. When that was done and Amazon knew my husband had no money in any bank account - and 4 daughters under the age of 6 - Amazon sued my husband in the same district where they were working with prosecutors. /2
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Prosecutors then told my husband’s lawyers that if my husband would plead guilty to Amazon’s allegations, prosecutors would give my husband back some of his money so he could feed his little girls. Otherwise, good luck. I hope the babies don’t starve. This was May 2020. /3
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Also: DOJ seized the money my husband had paid lawyers after learning he was the target of a federal investigation. They literally went into the law firm’s client trust account and yanked the money. It was scorched earth. My husband was NEVER charged with any crime. /4
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
The DOJ also seized my father’s entire bank account. My husband and I helped my 70 year old dad with health expenses. He had a life saving kidney transplant in April 2020. He couldn’t play for his anti rejection meds, /5
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
DOJ also seized my bank accounts. I guess to make sure we had no way to survive? I was the CEO of a start up. They took it all. And we couldn’t even fight to get it back until February 2022. 2 years later. And we got it back. /6
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
But for 2 years, we had to support 4 babies & pay lawyers to fight Amazon’s civil lawsuit, the civil forfeiture and the government investigation Amazon started. We sold our home, car, liquidated retirement, borrowed money and raised money. This was our home in Seattle. /7
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
We drove away from Seattle with 4 girls and 5 bags. We had to leave our dog - our heart - with a friend for a year. We eventually made our way to Ohio to live with my family. We got the dog, Utah, back. /8
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
At one point, DOJ subpoenaed our former nanny. I think they did it to try to show some tax fraud - but we paid our nanny over the table with employment taxes. If we had’t DOJ would have likely threatened to charge me with a crime to exert pressure on my husband to plead guilty. So the nanny had to hire lawyers. But here’s the thing. /9
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
In Amazon’s civil lawsuit - because we could pay to fight, because we sold everything and got the seized money back and I moved away from my little girls to take a job to pay lawyers - a federal judge finally ruled my husband didn’t even break his Amazon employment contract. The DOJ seized our money and was happy to let my children starve - so were @JeffBezos and @ajassy - over conduct a judge said conformed to Amazon’s employment terms. How is this America? /9
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
My dad never got his money back. He couldn’t pay for lawyers and it was just $13,000 - all the money he had in the world. My parents aren’t wealthy. My mom was a retired teacher. We had to promise not to sue DOJ and give up 15% of the seized money to get anything back. We needed it to survive so we did. /10
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
In all, DOJ seized $7 million from families, investors, and companies based on Amazon’s false allegations. In March 2024, the affidavits DOJ used to seize the money will be unsealed. And that’s a massively important day. Here is why. /11
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
I’ve seen statements by DOJ that Amazon said it’s employees weren’t “authorized” to do business with entities doing biz with Amazon. Full ban. But a federal judge said that is “explicitly contrary” to the plain terms of Amazon’s contract & Amazon DID allow that, Now, if we hadn’t fought - would my husband be charged with federal crimes for adhering to his contract? I think so. I do. /12
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
But someone at Amazon lied to DOJ. And it will be in the affidavits. And it’s a federal crime to lie to law enforcement: 18 USC 1001. Big deal. And so I have to believe DOJ is digging into this now and will hold the actors at Amazon accountable who lied. Otherwise they’re broadcasting to all companies, hey, go ahead and lie to us to go after business partners, etc. We are here for it. It’s pretty darn black and white. /13
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Amazon has broadcast in public filings that 4 people really ran the show internally: AWS exec Chris Vonderhaar, now at Google Cloud. Global head of ethics Yousri Omar. AWS lawyer Dennis Wallace. North American ethics head Matt Doden. So stay tuned. /14
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Now, Amazon has a disturbing path of using DOJ as a “partner” to go after sellers, seller consultants, employees and landlords. Seems not okay. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/21/amazon-federal-law-enforcement-525794. /15
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
And Amazon IS a real partner to the intelligence community. In 2013, Amazon won a massive CIA contract. Now they store data for FBI, DOD, NSA, etc. Pretty terrifying. /16 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the-details-about-the-cias-deal-with-amazon/374632/
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Is their independence? I don’t know. I don’t know anything about this country anymore. Dozens of lawyers put my family in a vice and squeezed us, hoping we would die. So I’m lost. But please keep watching. Please keep sharing. Thank you. /17 https://reason.com/2022/02/18/fbi-seized-almost-1-million-from-amy-sterner-carl-nelson-never-charged-them-with-a-crime/
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
And, also: Abolish civil forfeiture. It’s not right.
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
EXPLOSIVE: When @amazon's lawyers targeted my husband, their lawyer - a former federal prosecutor - emailed his former colleagues & said Amazon would talk to DOJ about "asset restraint/recovery." DOJ then seized $7M from Amazon's targets based on Amazon's allegations. /1
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
(These docs are all on the public docket in Amazon's civil case against my husband, where a federal judge ruled in April that my husband - even if he did exactly what Amazon said he did - acted in accordance with the "explicit terms" of AMAZON's contract.) /2
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
When DOJ wasn't acting fast enough for Amazon, their lawyer emailed DOJ & said, hey, prosecutor, can you please get on the phone & update me about the bank accounts we've asked you to subpoena/seize? (Isn't grand jury secrecy... a thing?) /3
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
And then, 2 days later - Amazon's lawyer had the AUDACITY to email DOJ & say, hey, need you on the phone again! I want to tell you Amazon's position on the "timing" of the investigation & seizure we ordered up. This is a real email, from a private attorney. /4
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
I have mountains of emails like this that I could show you - all on public dockets. If you care about constitutional rights, it seems like a real issue that @JeffBezos has this much power. Because there was never ANY basis to seize the $ in the first place. Hear me out. /5
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Amazon alleged a crime of private sector honest services fraud - meaning, Amazon had to prove that my. husband violated his duty to them as an employee. SO AMAZON LIED ABOUT THE DUTY. They said my husband wasn't authorized to do biz w/ entities doing biz w/ Amazon /6
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
But this year, a federal judge - who actually LOOKED at Amazon's employment contract (DOJ didn't - more on that in a second) said that even if my husband did exactly what Amazon said he did, my husband acted in accordance with the "explicit terms" of Amazon's contract. /7
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
So, yeah. Amazon got DOJ to seize $7 million over an alleged breach of employment duties - that were false, not real, and actually contrary to the exact duties Amazon had in their own contract. DOJ also obtained and executed search warrants with these false duties listed. /8
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Now, here's the thing. Here's where @jeffbezos and @amazon's power is terrifying: DOJ didn't ask Amazon to back up their statements about employment duties. Here a prosecutor confirms DOJ didn't look at the contract when using the extraordinary tool of civil forfeiture. /9
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
So if DOJ didn't rely in "any way" on the employment contract as the alleged source of "fiduciary duty" my husband allegedly criminally violated ... what did they look at? Can Amazon allow something in a contract and then try to put an American in prison for it? /10
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
I mean, Amazon ALSO pointed DOJ to its code of conduct. But I found 2 cases - me, wife of target in Ohio - where Amazon told judges that employees couldn't sue Amazon for breaking the code b/c it imposes no legal duty. The judge didn't think it was funny. Look what he said. /11
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Amazon's entire mission to "get" my husband was one of seek and destroy at any cost. Me, my husband & our 4 girls endured civil forfeiture for 2 years, a terrifying FBI raid, and months of threats from prosecutors to arrest my husband in our home in front of our girls. /12
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
My husband was never charged with any crime. But here is where I shake with anger: Over 50 lawyers worked on destroying my family. Will not ONE of them do the right thing? Will not ONE of them stand up and say enough? FOR MY DAUGHTERS? /13
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Last year, Amazon's lawyer sent me a letter telling me if I didn't stop my "unlawful" social media posts sharing the names of lawyers hunting my family for Amazon that he would go to the court. He also called me a conspiracy theorist. I didn't stop. Nor will I. /14
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
The thing about it, @gibsondunn, is that letters don't scare me. You've made me learn to be brave for my family when a billionaire launches an army against my husband, seizes every $ so we can't feed our babies, and sends guns into my home. And brave I am. /15
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
The media is terrified of this story. I get it. Everyone in the world is terrified of @JeffBezos. But we have the receipts because these lawyers were so damn sure we'd collapse and die so no one would ever see the paper trail. And the paper trail is sloppy and horrifying. /16
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Anyway. As we enter the fifth year of Amazon's attempted annihilation of my family, here are the lawyers that Amazon hired to do the job. /17
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Patrick Stokes, Elizabeth Papez, Jason Mendro, Claudia Barrett, Michael Dziuban, Amanda Sterling, Veronica Moye, George Hazel, Lora MacDonald, Travis Andrews, Rachel Robertson, Thomas Hungar, Jason Schwartz, David Casazza, Trisha Parikh, Luke Sullivan, Cate Harding, /18
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Christine Budasoff, David Debold, Jack Heyburn, Todd Shaw, Alyse Ullery from Gibson Dunn. (There are more, I just can''t dig them up right now.) /19
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Internal Amazon lawyers: David Zapolsky, Dennis Wallace, Yousri Omar, D. Matthew Doden, Alexis Collins, Brad Elias, Sarah Tyerman, Marnina Cherkin. Those are the names I know currently, as identified by Amazon. /20
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
K&L Gates attorneys: Jeffrey Johnson and Ryan Redekopp. /21
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
And there is more: Like, why did DOJ prosecutors threaten to charge my husband with obstruction of justice or witness tampering if he refused to stop defending himself in Amazon's civil case? I mean, weird? /22 https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/15/amazon-virginia-lawsuit-forfeiture/
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Is DOJ investigating Amazon's lies? Or ... does @jeffbezos get a pass? Is that the America we live in now? (I know the answer. You don't need to say it. We ALL KNOW the answer.) /23
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
Please share our story with ANYONE you know who might help. We've spent over $3 million legal fees. We've lost our home, car, retirement, & more. No one deserves this. Someone could do the right thing today. Including @ajassy, @DavidZapolsky or @JeffBezos /24
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
And, as always, I wish @seattletimes would cover this in depth. This involves the state's largest employer. It involves the deprivation of constitutional rights. It WILL be covered in detail, somewhere, eventually. It's the story of a lifetime for a brave journalist. /25
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
@seattletimes And, finally. Why do I name the lawyers? People do things to people. We need to remember that. Companies can't make decisions - people do. Law firms can't scorch the earth of their targets - only people can. We are all responsible for our decisions and actions. Always. /26
@Amy_K_Nelson - Amy Nelson
An incredible summary from a creator I’ve never met about @amazon’s war against my family. This story isn’t complicated. But it’s stunning. Why isn’t it front page news? One name: @JeffBezos https://t.co/JMgiTugKel