A St. Louis man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded Kohl’s out of nearly $300,000 in merchandise.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey handed down an 87-month sentence to Marshall Lampkin, 36, on Thursday. In addition to the prison term, Lampkin was ordered to pay $301,713 in restitution to Kohl’s and forfeit any stolen items that authorities have recovered.
Evidence presented at Lampkin’s August trial detailed how he exploited the retailer’s Kohl’s Cash rewards program. According to testimony, Lampkin would use Kohl’s Cash to make purchases exceeding $1,000 at physical stores. Before those transactions registered in the system, he would use the same Kohl’s Cash online to buy additional merchandise. He then returned the items bought in-store for more Kohl’s Cash and repeated the process multiple times across dozens of stores in over a dozen states.
“Kohl’s asked Lampkin to stop, deactivated his online account and alerted stores, but Lampkin continued by recruiting multiple accomplices,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf said during Thursday’s hearing.
Lampkin arranged for approximately $293,000 worth of goods—including flooring, furniture, small appliances and other products—to be shipped to storage units in St. Louis and a relative’s home in Illinois. He later attempted to sell these items through Facebook advertisements.
Ladendorf told the court that this scam was part of a broader pattern spanning nearly two decades. Lampkin began by illegally selling MetroLink tickets in 2007 before moving on to shoplifting from large retailers between 2010 and 2011. From 2013 through 2023, he targeted a national pharmacy chain’s rewards program as well. “When confronted by store staff, Lampkin would become violent,” Ladendorf said.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the St. Louis County Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Derek Wiseman.
