A former MillerCoors executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding the company of more than $8.6 million over nearly 10 years through the use of false and inflated invoices.
David Colletti, a former vice president of on-premise national accounts, was charged in 2015 as part of an indictment that named seven other co-conspirators. The indictment said the group worked together to bill MillerCoors for marketing or promotional events that did not occur, or at inflated costs.
Colletti’s charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, but federal guidelines suggest he serve between eight and 10 years. As part of his plea agreement, he could end up serving a little over five years if he continues to cooperate with prosecutors.
He is also required to pay, along with any jointly liable defendants, more than $8.6 million in restitution to the company.
“We are pleased with (Wednesday’s) developments as it’s a step closer to justice being served in this embezzlement case,” said MillerCoors spokesman Jon Stern.
The company also has a civil case against Colletti and 24 other defendant in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Colletti was employed by the company for more than 30 years, working out of offices in both Chicago and Milwaukee. The FBI identified him as from Chicago in announcing the charges, but he lived in Oconomowoc as recently as 2014.
As both senior director and vice president for on-premise national accounts, he had responsibility to oversee marking, promotion and sale of beer to on-premise accounts like bars and restaurants. The company uses third-party vendors for promotions. Vendors would submit cost estimates before events and then invoices after the event took place.
The plea agreement says Colletti would tell the other defendants what false information to include on estimates and invoices, including false dates, locations and costs associated with the fictitious promotional events. He also told them when and how to inflate costs on certain invoices and participated in preparing false invoices. Colletti also approved false estimates and invoices during the course of his employment.
After the company paid the invoices, Colletti would receive a cut of the proceeds from the other defendants through a variety of methods including, cash, international golf trips, hunting trips and collectible firearms, according to the plea agreement.
The agreement says Colletti was involved with at least 200 false estimates and invoices from May 2003 to December 2013. MillerCoors paid out at least $8,658,302 to at least 15 different vendors controlled by the other defendants.
Two of the defendants, Maryann Rozenberg, of Dousman, and Francis Buonauro, Jr., of Florida, are scheduled for change of plea hearings Thursday in the Northern Illinois U.S. District Court.
Rozenberg was a Miller employee from 1995 to 2008. She then created Golden Events and Promotions, which purported to provide marketing and event planning services to MillerCoors, according to court documents. Along with Colletti, she submitted at least eight false estimates and invoices and obtained roughly $95,000. That included almost $8,000 for a promotional event in Rosemont, Ill. that never took place, according to the indictment.
Buonauro controlled F&B Marketing, which also purported to provide marketing and event planning services. According to documents, he submitted at least 10 false estimates and invoices and obtained at least $500,000 including $33,000 for promotional events supposedly held at flea markets in Florida and Arizona.
Other defendants are scheduled for a status conference Thursday. Those defendants include Andrew Vallozzi, who controlled Waukesha-based AVA Marketing & Communications and was tied to the now defunct Milwaukee Iron arena football team, Thomas Longhi, of Florida, James Rittenberg, of Chicago, Scott Darst, of Las Vegas, and Roderick Groetzinger of South Carolina.
