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Amazon Consultant Pleads Guilty in Bribe Plot to Aid Merchants

  • Scheme steered business to online sellers, erased poor reviews
  • Prosecutors say ring reaped $100 million in unfair advantages
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Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

A prominent Amazon.com Inc. consultant pleaded guilty Thursday to bribing company employees in a scheme to give online sellers a competitive advantage that prosecutors say were worth $100 million.

Ephraim “Ed” Rosenberg was the final holdout among five US-based defendants accused of paying off Amazon employees in exchange for confidential company data that, among other things, helped them steer business to some merchants and shut out their competitors.