Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast Nintendo Employee's Embezzlement Scheme Exposed
Jan 5, 2026
Brandon Smith, a former Nintendo employee turned robber, shares his jaw-dropping journey from gaming to crime. He discusses how a workplace injury led to addiction and spiraling thefts from Nintendo. As paranoia grew, he escalated to robbing stores with his girlfriend to fund his drug habit. Brandon details his arrest after 25 robberies and the intense experience of prison life. Reflecting on missed opportunities for help, he now focuses on rebuilding his life and working in construction while navigating the challenges of reintegration.
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Inside Nintendo Customer Service
- Brandon worked Nintendo customer service, staffed promotional projects, and later became a consumer service admin during the Wii launch.
- He handled warranty repairs and public demos, which later gave him knowledge he abused to steal inventory.
Small Thefts Turned Regular Income
- Brandon began taking returned controllers and consoles from stock and selling them to pawn shops and Craigslist buyers.
- He targeted untracked returned items and listed ads in advance to fund his drug habit.
Internal Access Multiplies Risk
- Knowledge of internal procedures made it trivially easy for Brandon to create fake claims and material moves.
- That internal access created high-risk opportunity when inventory wasn't properly controlled.