In his 22 years working for Macy’s, one distribution center manager found a way to work the system and pocket enough kickbacks to snag an Aston Martin.
Rudy Rampertab, who had been employed with Macy’s from 1988 to 2010, last week plead guilty to one count each of mail fraud and money laundering, after abusing his position as manager of the retailer’s distribution center in Carson, California.
Rampertab oversaw the transport of Macy’s merchandise to centers throughout the country, a statement from the Department of Justice said, and in 2010, he started diverting goods shipments to a co-conspirator who had set up several shipping companies.
Though he obtained approval for those companies to become third-party vendors for Macy’s, he did not disclose his personal connection to the companies, which he also helped operate. Nor did he say he was pocketing money from those vendors’ operations.
Between July and December 2010, those companies got $3.5 million worth of Macy’s shipping and packaging business, and after expenses, generated upward of $900,000 in net profits from the diverted business—some of which when to buy Rampertab and his co-conspirator real estate, cars and a $199,000 2010 Aston Martin.
Rampertab could face up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud and potentially a maximum of 10 years for money laundering, according to the Justice Department.
Macy’s has not commented on the case.