Saturday, January 17, 2009

Home Depot Exec Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes - Third Such Case For Company

Ronald K. Johnston, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting bribes from vendors of his former employer, Home Depot, Inc., based in Atlanta. Johnston, who is a former purchasing manager, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of filing a false tax return in connection with accepting bribes from the company's foreign suppliers. According to the complaint, Johnston failed to pay income tax on $186,000 in bribe income. He is the third such former employee to do so in recent months. Anthony Tesvich and James P. Robinson both plead guilty to similar charges in separate cases last summer. Johnston faces up to 23 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000 upon sentencing, which is scheduled for April 1.

Read the story here, here and here.

No comments: