New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Wegmans

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Sean Stockdale, 33, of Deal, NJ, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, to a felony charge of wire fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who handled the case, stated that Stockdale held various supervisory positions with Wegmans Food Markets Inc. at stores in New Jersey. Between November of 2006 and February of 2008, he utilized his knowledge and managerial authorizations to enter false returns into the Wegmans computer system, causing various amounts to be credited to him. Stockdale then converted the credited amounts into store and third party gift cards in an amount exceeding $20,000 to which he was not entitled.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Roberston.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 23rd, at 10 a.m. EST, in Rochester, N.Y., in front of Judge Larimer.