Amazon has settled its claims against two former AWS real estate managers accused of taking personal payments connected to Northern Virginia data center deals. Carl Nelson and Casey Kirschner, who were responsible for steering Amazon's data center site selection, reached the settlement with the company on October 20. Their settlement narrows a civil case filed in 2020, but claims against Denver developer Brian Watson and Northstar Commercial Partners remain.
What the Settlement Establishes — and What It Does Not
According to GeekWire, the two men acknowledged receiving personal payments connected to the data center deals. In a joint statement, Nelson and Kirschner said they regret their actions and apologize for failing to meet Amazon's high ethical standards, adding that the payments violated the company's Code of Conduct and Ethics and put its reputation at risk. Notably, the statement does not call the payments kickbacks or say they were illegal, and the settlement's other terms — including whether any money actually changed hands — remain confidential.
Colorado attorney Rodney Atherton, who set up business entities for Nelson and Kirschner, also settled with Amazon, according to the same GeekWire report. The resolutions remove three defendants from the civil case, but do not amount to a court finding on whether the payments were illegal.
Watson and Northstar Remain in the Case
Amazon's lawsuit continues against Brian Watson and his Denver-based real estate firm, Northstar Commercial Partners. The company alleges that Northstar won data center business by paying kickbacks to Nelson and Kirschner, an accusation Watson denies, according to GeekWire's reporting. As reported by The Next Web, the trial against Watson and Northstar is due to start November 2 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and the pair have asked the judge to require Amazon to hand over the settlement agreement.
Published accounts also differ on how many transactions are at issue. GeekWire reports that Amazon's remaining dispute involves nine Northern Virginia data center development projects. A description of the court record cited by case-law.vlex.com refers to eleven commercial real estate transactions — nine leases and two direct purchases — while the Seattle Times has reported that Nelson and Kirschner represented Amazon in at least 10 land deals with Watson and Northstar. The available accounts do not reconcile these counts.
Northern Virginia’s Data-Center Growth
Loudoun County says its zoning administrator determined in 2000 that data centers would be regulated like office buildings because the county zoning ordinance lacked a distinct use classification for them. That local land-use backdrop does not establish anything about the projects or payments in Amazon’s case, according to Loudoun County. The broader electricity demand associated with the industry is also rising: according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s summary of an LBNL report, data centers consumed about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and are projected to consume approximately 6.7 to 12% by 2028. Those national figures do not describe the specific sites in Amazon’s lawsuit.
How the Case Reached This Point
The civil case has had a changing procedural history since Amazon filed it in 2020. A federal judge dismissed most of the company's claims in 2023, but reports differ on the number: The Real Deal reported that all but one of eight claims were dismissed, while Data Center Dynamics said six of eight were tossed. Separately, the vlex court record says a 2023 ruling granted Atherton's motion for summary judgment and granted Kirschner's motion only in part.
In September 2025, a federal appeals court revived several claims, including racketeering and fraud, and sent the case back for trial, GeekWire reports. Amazon had previously alleged that Nelson and Kirschner collectively received $18 million from a Northern Virginia land transaction involving Northstar employees. The FBI seized $892,135 from the Nelsons' bank accounts in 2020, according to the reporting.
Parallel Criminal Case Fizzled
The civil fight has run alongside a related criminal saga that took its own winding path. Federal prosecutors vacated the prior guilty pleas of Christian Kirschner and Kyle Ramstetter in January 2024, describing continued prosecution as not in the best interests of justice, according to GeekWire's earlier coverage of the dispute. Ramstetter, a Northstar executive, had admitted to helping facilitate a kickback scheme before prosecutors dropped the case, BusinessDen reported at the time.
With Nelson, Kirschner, and Atherton no longer defendants, the immediate questions concern the claims against Watson and Northstar, the November trial schedule, and whether the settlement agreement will affect the proceedings. The former managers acknowledged receiving personal payments, but the confidential settlement terms do not disclose the full terms of their resolution with Amazon.
