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Joseph Spaccavento, 41, was an accounts payable manager and assistant controller at the firm, which developed hardware and software for video surveillance, federal authorities said.
His accomplice, Melissa Corso, coordinated the collection of customer payments and applied them to invoices, they said.
For more than 5 ½ years, the two diverted customer payments to themselves, Spaccavento admitted during a videoconference Monday.
Corso “instructed certain customers of the victim companies to submit their payments to a PayPal account registered in Spaccavento’s name and associated with Corso’s work email address,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
a. Spaccavento and Corso then used the money to shop on eBay, order food through GrubHub and patronize a number of online retailers -- including Bloomingdales, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Forever 21, Louis Vuitton and Target – having purchases shipped to their homes and other people’s homes, documents on file in U.S. District Court in Newark show.
They covered their tracks, the FBI alleged, using bogus customer statements and internal accounting records.
Rather than face trial, Spaccavento took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti scheduled sentencing for Sept. 9.
Charges were still pending against Corso.
Honig credited special agents of the FBI with the investigation leading to Monday’s plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Kozar of her Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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