Tom Shine, currently Reeboks SVP for Sports & Entertainment Marketing, is the latest to plead guilty in the federal probe of Just for Feet. The incident occurred when Shine was president of Logo Athletic, which filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and was acquired by Reebok in 2001 as its On-Field licensed apparel division.
Shine is the fourth vendor executive to be caught up in the JFF fraud investigation.
Steven Davis, the former Director of Marketing for Just for Feet, will also plead guilty in the probe. Davis has most recently been SVP of Marketing for GSI Commerce. The GSIC board announced his resignation last Monday.
Shine agreed to plead guilty to charges that he made false statements to auditors, allegedly signing a confirmation letter to Just For Feet's outside auditor saying that Logo Athletic owed Just For Feet $700,000 “when he knew no such debt existed”. Davis agreed to plead guilty to making false statements to FBI agents.
Both men have reportedly agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the Justice Department press release.
These cases are the number five and six guilty pleas for the ongoing Just for Feet probe. According to court records, former JFF president Adam Gilburne has had his sentencing “continued”. Jon Epstein, the former CEO of Fila USA, is now scheduled for sentencing on May 21, and Tim McCool, the adidas sales exec that was the first vendor to enter a plea, is to be sentenced on March 18.
Steve Dodge, the former VP of footwear sales for the old Converse, has had his arraignment moved to February 24. Davis and Shine are to be arraigned on February 12.
The prosecution is being handled jointly by the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Investigators have uncovered $5.3 million in fraud involved in the six plea agreements reached so far, according to U.S. Attorney Alice Martin.
Martin is perhaps best known as the lead prosecutor in the Eric Robert Rudolph case, the guy that hid for years in the NC mountains after being charged in the bombings at the Atlanta Olympics and a number of abortion clinics.
>>> We can only hope the delays in sentencing can mean that prosecutors are looking to most of these guys for information and cooperation
>>> If she nailed Rudolph, it shouldnt be so hard to find the bad guy in this case. Hes the guy with the accent and bad hairpiece driving around town in a Mercedes …
