Former Aeropostale executive vice president and chief marketing officer Christopher Finazzo wassentenced on Wednesday (Aug. 20) to eight years in prison for his role in a kickback scheme. Finazzo was convicted of receiving more than $25 million in kickbacks from a clothing supplier in exchange for $350 million worth of business.
“For over a decade, Christopher Finazzo abused his position of power at Aéropostale and betrayed the trust placed in him by the company, its investors and its employees by lining his own pockets at his employer’s expense,” U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement, according to Law360. “These lies and false representations compromised the financial well-being of a publicly traded retail company.”
Finazzo began to play a role in the fraud conspiracy in 1996, according to prosecutors, joining forces with South Bay Apparel Inc. owner Douglas Dey. The duo lied on multiple occasions to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the news source reported.
However, one of Finazzo’s attorney’s said that they will appeal the decision because the jury found that Finazzo did not intend to deprive Aeropostale of any money and “sustained no pecuniary harm.”
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