As reported by AFP, the district attorney of Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing it of misappropriating tips intended for independent drivers.

The online shopping giant is accused of using these tips to pay some of the money it owes these delivery drivers.

Amazon has already agreed to pay $62 million to delivery drivers in 2021 to end a lawsuit filed by the US Consumer Protection Agency (FTC) over the same issues.

But U.S. Attorney Carl Racine of Washington wants the firm fined and issued a court order to permanently ban the practice.

In 2015, Amazon introduced a program called “Amazon Flex” that encouraged customers to tip delivery drivers when ordering.

However, in 2016, the company changed the payment system for couriers, which meant that a large part of the tips did not go directly to the couriers, but instead financed part of the amount owed by Amazon.

At the same time, he continued to assure customers that 100% of tips end up in the couriers’ pockets.

“And instead of notifying drivers of changes to its tipping system, Amazon changed the way tips are displayed in the app so that drivers can no longer see the amount paid by each customer,” the statement added.

Although Amazon has reimbursed the wrongly charged amounts, the group has “so far avoided any liability, including any fines, for damages to consumers,” the Washington attorney general’s office said in a complaint filed Tuesday.