A Kohl’s Cash scam that siphoned off nearly $300,000 in merchandise has earned a St. Louis man more than seven years in federal prison, in a case that lands squarely in metro Milwaukee’s backyard. On Feb. 26, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced the man to 87 months behind bars, ordered him to pay restitution and signed off on the forfeiture of recovered goods. The case hits home because Kohl’s is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, just outside Milwaukee.
Prosecutors identified the defendant as 36-year-old Marshall Lampkin, according to the Department of Justice. They said Lampkin racked up about $293,000 in online purchases as part of the scheme, and the court ultimately ordered him to repay Kohl’s $301,713. Lampkin was convicted in August and later sentenced in federal court in St. Louis. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri led the prosecution.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors say Lampkin found and exploited a timing glitch in Kohl’s systems. He would walk into a store, use Kohl’s Cash to buy high-dollar items, then move fast and place the exact same order online using that same Kohl’s Cash before the in-store purchase fully registered in the system.
Once the dust settled, he would return the in-store items, get fresh Kohl’s Cash, and run the play again. According to investigators, merchandise was funneled into storage units and a relative’s home and then resold. Trial evidence included store surveillance video and transaction records, according to First Alert 4.
Scope and timeline
Investigators say the fraud unfolded in 2021 and 2022, touching dozens of Kohl’s stores in more than a dozen states. Local reporting has tied the activity to roughly 40 Kohl’s locations across 13 states, a trail that stretched well beyond Missouri.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Lampkin repeated the purchases hundreds of times, often routing online orders to storage units in an effort to hide the thefts. A jury convicted him on five counts of mail fraud after a short deliberation, according to WISN.
Why Milwaukee readers should care
Kohl’s runs its nationwide operations from corporate headquarters in Menomonee Falls, a fact the retailer notes on its own corporate site. When fraud cases like this hit the balance sheet, retailers often respond by tightening up rewards programs, changing promotional rules or layering in extra fraud checks that regular shoppers feel at the register and online.
The sentencing was also covered by the Milwaukee Business Journal, underscoring that this was not just an out-of-state oddity but a case with direct ties to one of the region’s biggest corporate players. Retailers typically weigh the cost of cracking down on abuse against the customer goodwill generated by generous promotions.
Legal details
Lampkin was convicted on five counts of mail fraud and faced statutory penalties that could have stretched well beyond his 87-month sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case, according to the Department of Justice.
As part of the federal sentence, Judge Autrey ordered restitution of $301,713 and the forfeiture of recovered merchandise.
Fraud involving loyalty programs and retailer promotions is hardly new, and industry analysts often point to fairly simple fixes: close timing gaps like the one Lampkin exploited, flag unusual return patterns and tighten loss-prevention training. For everyday Kohl’s customers, the practical advice is more basic. Keep an eye on your Kohl’s account activity, and if you spot Kohl’s Cash redemptions you did not make, report them to the company’s customer service line right away.
