Just for Feet has claimed its latest victim in the form of Steve Dodge, the former VP of footwear sales for Converse. Dodge was most recently VP & General Manager of Tecnicas Outdoor & Winter Footwear Division.
Alice Martin, the U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Alabama, said in a release Thursday that Dodge will admit plotting with Just for Feet to give auditors fake documents that inflated the shoe retailer's earnings.
“Once again in this investigation, we see a vendor more concerned about maintaining a corporate account than being accountable to corporate investors with truthful audit confirmation statements,” Martin said.
Dodges attorney said in a Reuters interview that his client “did not personally profit” and he “relied on false representations on the part of Just for Feet” that led to the fake letter to auditors.
The criminal complaint alleges that Dodge, while at Converse, worked with Just For Feet to overstate earnings by approximately $412,000 in early 1999, telling JFF auditors that Converse owed the company more than it really did for advertising or merchandise.
He reportedly agreed to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to falsify JFFs books. He was also charged with conspiracy to make false statements to the auditors.
Dodge is now the third vendor executive to plead guilty and aid the investigation of Just for Feet. Former JFF president Adam Gilburne has also pleaded guilty in the case. This latest case brings the tally of falsely stated earnings to approximately $4.1 million.
>>> Meanwhile, Harold is toiling away in his restaurant in Birmingham while the FBI and the U.S. Attorney continue to drag in people that did his bidding. We sure hope the footsteps are starting to get a little louder
