LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Two men are sentenced to probation for a coffee kickback scheme involving Sam's Club.
Mark Hoffman, 56 of Springdale, and David Workman, 52 of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, were sentenced for the scheme that lasted from 2003 to 2007. Both got three years probation, a $5,000 fine, and a special assessment of $100. Hoffman's sentence also states that the first year of his probation will be served in home detention.
The U.S. Attorney's office says in court documents, Workman owned a company named Mountain Falls Inc. in Cypress Gardens, Florida and was a broker for the coffee company Bay Area Coffee. Hoffman was a senior buyer of dry goods for Sam's Club at the home office in Bentonville.
From 2003 to 2007, Hoffman solicited kickback payments from Workman in exchange for Hoffman selecting Bay Area Coffee as a supplier for Sam's Club.
The documents show Workman wrote monthly checks to Hoffman from Mountain Falls Inc. bank account to a shell company established by Hoffman called Moonlight Support Services. Hoffman was ordered to pay the total kickback payments of $345,800 in a forfeiture order.
United States Attorney Eldridge commented, "We will continue to prosecute those who commit fraud and abuse their positions of power to enrich themselves. When the decisions made by company employees are improperly influenced, everyone loses. With the hard work of the FBI and this office, these individuals have been held accountable, and a statement has been made that this conduct is unacceptable."