MIAMI — A Canadian fraudster associated with a “transnational cybercrime group” appeared in Miami federal court on Tuesday afternoon after he was arrested in South Florida, according to records obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday.
Authorities said Michael Ramsden, 23, of Coquitlam, British Columbia, used the handle “Reign” in his role in the “Noir’s Luxury Refunds” scheme. Several others have already been charged in the case, which is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Prosecutors said “Noir’s Luxury Refunds” was responsible for millions of dollars in losses to retailers and run through the messaging app Telegram. “Noir” was the handle of Kareem Mustafa Ahmad, 21, of Alexandria, Egypt, authorities say.
An indictment handed down by a Birmingham, Alabama, federal grand jury on Nov. 30, 2023 doesn’t provide specific details about Ramsden’s alleged involvement in the scheme. However, it does detail how it worked.
According to the indictment, “Noir’s Luxury Refunds” was a “concierge” service offering refund fraud services to the public through its Telegram channel. It operated from July 2020 until July 2022.
Investigators said customers would purchase items from online retailers and then contact the organization to fraudulently obtain refunds while keeping the merchandise. “Noir’s Luxury Refunds” would then get a cut of the purchase price.
Authorities say the group used several tactics, including falsely claiming items did not arrive, claiming packages arrived empty, manipulating tracking and return labels, filing false warranty claims, recruiting insider customer service employees to process fraudulent refunds and obtaining duplicate replacement items.
According to the indictment, the group “would also obtain retail products through refund fraud and then sell or attempt to sell them on markets like eBay and in bulk to wholesale resale services.”
The scheme focused on high-value goods such as electronics, designer clothing, appliances and computer equipment, according to the indictment.
Online records show Ramsden was booked into the Broward County jail on Monday and later taken to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami. It wasn’t immediately clear where or how he was located in South Florida.
Local 10 News has contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama seeking additional details.
Ramsden, facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, remained at FDC Miami as of Wednesday morning. Records show prosecutors are seeking to keep him behind bars “based on risk of flight.”
He’s scheduled for pre-trial detention and removal hearings at 10 a.m. Friday in Miami federal court.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
