Former Calif. employee of supermarket giant charged in massive conspiracy case

"A former California wine buyer for a major supermarket chain was charged in Oakland federal court last month for allegedly accepting bribes worth upward of $85,000, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms). The Newport Beach man and former Bay Area resident accepted lavish handbags, prepaid gift cards, vacations to Hawaii, golf trips to Pebble Beach and more for stocking certain wine brands over others, prosecutors allege."

"The bribes that the man allegedly accepted read like a laundry list of luxury. On trips to a resort in Maui, for example, the bribes also included massages and "thousands of dollars" in gift cards that were redeemable at the hotel, the lawsuit states. Other items included expensive watches and handbags, as well as $16,000 worth of prepaid Visa gift cards."

"The former wine buyer, a San Jose State graduate, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, aiding and abetting, and commercial bribery, according to a lawsuit filed on Sept. 23. Regulations administered by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, a subsidiary of the Treasury Department, prohibit parties within the alcohol industry from "engaging in certain marketing practices which threaten the independence of a trade buyer or unfairly advantages that industry member over their competitors," the lawsuit says."

A former California supermarket wine buyer faces federal charges for allegedly accepting more than $85,000 in bribes to favor specific wine brands. The alleged benefits included luxury handbags, expensive watches, prepaid gift cards, massages, casino chips and vacations to Hawaii, Pebble Beach, Cabo San Lucas and other exclusive golf clubs. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, aiding and abetting, and commercial bribery. Regulations from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau prohibit marketing practices that threaten buyer independence. Distributors allegedly used falsified invoices to report transactions to the TTB, and prepaid gift cards were not reported to the IRS.

Read at SFGATE