Two Men Sentenced for Telegram Refund Fraud Scheme

In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Primus Wayne Burrell received a 30-month prison sentence and Jaylen Isaiah Naves an 18-month term on April 30 for running a Telegram channel that instructed users in refund fraud, per the U.S. Department of Justice press release.

The channel, known as “Noir’s Luxury Refunds,” grew to over 8,000 members and caused more than $1 million in losses to luxury retailers through fraudulent refund schemes, per the press release. Burrell, 26, and Naves, 24, both from Alabama, charged fees for access to tutorials on deceiving companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton into issuing refunds for unpurchased or returned goods.

The operation affected multiple U.S.-based retailers, with documented losses from chargebacks and fake transactions exceeding seven figures across several states.

Before the sentencing, Burrell and Naves operated the channel freely since at least 2022, collecting subscription fees and sharing fraud techniques without legal consequence. The new state imposes immediate prison terms, three years of supervised release for each, and restitution payments totaling $150,000 to affected companies, effective from the April 30 court date, per the press release.

The channel's activities cease with the leaders' incarceration, and federal authorities seized related assets including cryptocurrency holdings.

The sentences activate mandatory reporting requirements for the defendants post-release, requiring them to disclose financial activities to probation officers for three years. Retailers impacted by the scheme now receive court-ordered restitution, with payments distributed through the DOJ's victim compensation process starting within 60 days.

The case advances to the appellate window, where defendants have 14 days from April 30 to file notices of appeal, potentially triggering further review by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The investigation began in 2023 following tips from affected retailers, per the press release. This marks the third Telegram-based fraud prosecution in the Northern District of Alabama since 2022, following similar cases involving carding and identity theft rings.