High-Rolling exec wagers $6.4 million, wins jail time

After losing $50,000 in Las Vegas, Nestlé sales executive Henry Machinski, fearful of telling his wife, launched a scheme with gambling buddy Vincent Marchese, an Allentown grocer. They created a fictitious company, AP Foods. Machinski wrote checks to AP Foods for Nestlé promotional payments, which the pair then cashed and split.
    Finding a ready cash supply, the men returned to Las Vegas repeatedly between 2001 and 2005, blowing through $6.4 million before Nestlé discovered the thefts. Both received jail time and were ordered to pay restitution, although the judge acknowledged there was “no hope” Nestlé would recover the full amount.
    Final tip: Despite a paper trail of checks, the thefts went unnoticed for four years. Regular, independent audits are your company’s only defense against this kind of employee crime.