Ex-Wal-Mart Boss Faces Fraud Sentence
Aug. 10, 2006, 12:18PM
Ex-Wal-Mart Boss Faces Fraud Sentence
By MARCUS KABEL Ap Business Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
— The former No. 2 executive at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Thomas Coughlin, faces sentencing Friday in federal court in Arkansas after pleading guilty to stealing money, merchandise and gift cards worth just a fraction of his base salary and stock holdings.
Coughlin, 57 and a protege of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, faces a maximum of 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. He also could be fined $1.35 million.
U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson, who accepted Coughlin's guilty plea in January, will hold the sentencing hearing at 10 a.m. in his courtroom in Fort Smith, Ark.
Prosecutors have recommended a sentence but Dawson sealed the plea agreement pending a presentencing report.
In court in January, Coughlin specifically admitted defrauding the company to pay for the care of his hunting dogs, lease a private hunting area, upgrade his pickup truck, buy liquor and a cooler, and receive $3,100 in cash. The items were worth a minuscule amount when compared to his $1 million-plus salary.
Coughlin's lawyers did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment ahead of the sentencing. Wal-Mart has declined to comment on specifics of the case, although Chief Executive Lee Scott has called the ordeal "an embarrassment" for the company.
Wal-Mart referred Coughlin to federal prosecutors after alleging he took money, goods and gift cards worth up to $500,000 over a period of at least seven years before he retired in early 2005.
Wal-Mart made further allegations of embezzlement and theft in a separate civil lawsuit it filed last year seeking to revoke Coughlin's multimillion-dollar retirement package.
That suit alleges that Coughlin used tricks including false expense reports to buy things as varied as snakeskin boots, hunting trips and Bloody Mary mix.
However, that lawsuit was dismissed by an Arkansas judge who said both sides had signed a pledge as part of Coughlin's retirement deal not to pursue any claims against each other for any reasons. Wal-Mart has appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
No mention was made in Coughlin's public filings with the court of his earlier claim that he used money obtained from Wal-Mart to pay for anti-union activism. Wal-Mart has said there was no such project.
Coughlin retired as Wal-Mart vice chairman in January 2005 and gave up his spot on the company board in March 2005 after Wal-Mart referred him to prosecutors. The matter was taken up by a grand jury in Fort Smith.
As vice chairman, he received a base salary of $1.03 million in his final year with the company. He received more than $3 million in bonuses and other income in the same period and held about $20 million in Wal-Mart stock, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
© 2006 The Associated Press
Ex-Wal-Mart Boss Faces Fraud Sentence
By MARCUS KABEL Ap Business Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
— The former No. 2 executive at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Thomas Coughlin, faces sentencing Friday in federal court in Arkansas after pleading guilty to stealing money, merchandise and gift cards worth just a fraction of his base salary and stock holdings.
Coughlin, 57 and a protege of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, faces a maximum of 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. He also could be fined $1.35 million.
U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson, who accepted Coughlin's guilty plea in January, will hold the sentencing hearing at 10 a.m. in his courtroom in Fort Smith, Ark.
Prosecutors have recommended a sentence but Dawson sealed the plea agreement pending a presentencing report.
In court in January, Coughlin specifically admitted defrauding the company to pay for the care of his hunting dogs, lease a private hunting area, upgrade his pickup truck, buy liquor and a cooler, and receive $3,100 in cash. The items were worth a minuscule amount when compared to his $1 million-plus salary.
Coughlin's lawyers did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment ahead of the sentencing. Wal-Mart has declined to comment on specifics of the case, although Chief Executive Lee Scott has called the ordeal "an embarrassment" for the company.
Wal-Mart referred Coughlin to federal prosecutors after alleging he took money, goods and gift cards worth up to $500,000 over a period of at least seven years before he retired in early 2005.
Wal-Mart made further allegations of embezzlement and theft in a separate civil lawsuit it filed last year seeking to revoke Coughlin's multimillion-dollar retirement package.
That suit alleges that Coughlin used tricks including false expense reports to buy things as varied as snakeskin boots, hunting trips and Bloody Mary mix.
However, that lawsuit was dismissed by an Arkansas judge who said both sides had signed a pledge as part of Coughlin's retirement deal not to pursue any claims against each other for any reasons. Wal-Mart has appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
No mention was made in Coughlin's public filings with the court of his earlier claim that he used money obtained from Wal-Mart to pay for anti-union activism. Wal-Mart has said there was no such project.
Coughlin retired as Wal-Mart vice chairman in January 2005 and gave up his spot on the company board in March 2005 after Wal-Mart referred him to prosecutors. The matter was taken up by a grand jury in Fort Smith.
As vice chairman, he received a base salary of $1.03 million in his final year with the company. He received more than $3 million in bonuses and other income in the same period and held about $20 million in Wal-Mart stock, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
© 2006 The Associated Press
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