Former Wal-Mart vice chairman Tom Coughlin yesterday (31 January) pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one charge of filing a false tax return. He now faces a maximum of a 28-year prison sentence and could be fined up to US$1.35m.
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The protégé of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, Coughlin was a top executive at the world’s largest retailer. He has admitted to stealing money, gift cards and merchandise from the company. Wal-Mart alerted federal prosecutors after learning that Coughlin had embezzled money and used expense vouchers to buy a variety of products, including snakeskin boots, hunting trips and a Celine Dion CD. Wal-Mart accused Coughlin of misappropriating as much as $500,000.
“I accepted responsibility for serious personal mistakes in judgment,” Coughlin said in a statement through his attorney. “This was not an easy decision. I regret the embarrassment this matter has caused my family and friends and I thank them for their support, love and friendship.”
US District Judge Robert Dawson sealed the plea agreement and sentencing will be set at a later date.
Vice president of corporate communications at Wal-Mart, Mona Williams, said: “This whole episode has been embarrassing and painful to us as a company and as individuals. Someone we expected to operate with the highest integrity let us down in a very public way. Wal-Mart has high ethical standards, and the way we handled this matter makes it clear that every associate will be held to these standards, with no exception.”
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By GlobalDataAt this time, the company declined to comment beyond this statement.
