Former Senior Vice President of Marketing at A&P Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charge

NEWARK NJ—The former senior vice president of marketing at A&P, a U.S. supermarket and liquor store chain, today admitted his role in a scheme to defraud A&P by selling for personal gain event tickets that were intended for A&P’s use, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

John R. Moritz, 44, of Mason, Ohio, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From December 2010 through December 2011, Moritz worked at A&P, a U.S. supermarket and liquor store chain that is headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey. He arranged for A&P to purchase thousands of tickets to sporting events, concerts and other shows that were to be used to reward high-performing A&P employees and for other legitimate business purposes. However, Moritz resold more than 7,000 tickets to third parties over the Internet, without A&P’s knowledge or consent. Some of these tickets were for the 2011 Super Bowl; the 2011 New York Yankees playoffs; and Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga, and U2 concerts. He admitted that as a result of his conduct, he fraudulently obtained $1,218,192.

The fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lakshmi Srinivasan Herman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Evan Weitz of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.