Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Last fall, Alden Shoe Co. realized its CFO had allegedly been embezzling millions of corporate funds and transferring them to his own, personal accounts. More than half of what he allegedly stole from the shoe company he is claimed to have used to pay for gifts he gave to Bianca de la Garza, including a car, diamond jewelry, designer clothes and handbags, and investing in her production company, Lucky Gal Productions.
Unfortunately, Lucky Gal Productions according to news reports has never turned a profit in the six years since it was founded, making it unlikely the former CFO will ever see a return on his investment.
Richard Hajjar was hired by the shoe company back in 1987. His two brothers already worked for the company and his father had been the CPA for Arthur S. Tarlow Jr., Alden’s current president. No one questioned Hajjar’s loyalty until last fall when Tarlow realized Hajjar had allegedly been moving funds from the company’s bank account into family trusts. When he approached Hajjar about it, Hajjar allegedly dodged the question but assured Tarlow the funds would be transferred back into the company’s bank account.
Hajjar then according to news reports stopped showing up for working, texting Tarlow to say he wasn’t feeling well. When the funds didn’t show up in the bank account, Hajjar allegedly stopped responding to Tarlow’s text messages, and Tarlow went to his Santander bank branch, where the shoe company had accounts. Tarlow then discovered that $10 million in retained earnings was allegedly missing from the account. Continue reading ›