SAN FRANCISCO – A former employee of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was charged with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly swindling $10 million from the retail giant, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said.
Prosecutors said that a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Ben Thomas III, 48, on Wednesday with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering.
Based on the indictment, Thomas allegedly registered a fake temporary staffing firm, Empire Logistics Services. From 2016 to 2023, Thomas was the general manager of the WSI hub and distribution facility in Braselton, Georgia where he had the authority to hire temporary staffing vendors and approve payments of up to $50,000 to vendors. …