See Inside a Nutty $16.6 Million Fruitcake Fraud Embezzlement Scheme With True Crime Documentary
What's fruitcake without a few nuts?
An exclusive sneak peek at Discovery+'s documentary Fruitcake Fraud, premiering today, Wednesday, Dec. 1, helps ring in our favorite time of year with a true crime Christmas story, courtesy of an FBI case that truly takes the cake.
Corsicana, Texas is home to the prestigious Collin Street Bakery, known for being the "Dom Perignon of fruitcake," as owner Bob McNutt boasts in the trailer. Yet the small town bakery was rocked after a $16.6 million embezzlement scheme led by accountant Sandy Jenkins and his wife Kay Jenkins.
"I think he got in a scheme that was way above him, way bigger than him," a commentator explains about the accountant in an exclusive clip.
According to another town member, "Sandy's embezzlement scheme started gradually, where he showed up with a nice watch and then he bought himself a nice car." The Jenkinses also went on lavish trips and even applied for a mortgage to purchase a Santa Fe vacation home.
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A member of law enforcement notes, "Every embezzlement case, the motivation is largely the same: It's people who think that they are undervalued. They see others in the company getting better opportunities, more money, benefits, and they decide that they're going to fix that problem on their own."
Sandy apparently "felt like he was not getting what he deserved at the bakery," and took matters into his own hands to target the family-run Collin Street Bakery, which brings in $30 million a year.
A former colleague explains, "I think it all goes back to not being grateful for what we have and wanting what someone else has. I think he felt, 'The McNutts have all this, I should have some of it.'"
Per a NBC News report, Sandy began writing fraudulent checks to "personal creditors" in December 2004. Over eight years, Sandy wrote 888 checks for a total of $16.6 million. In 2015, Sandy was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Kay pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation and 100 hours of community service. Their holiday-themed case was also the center of a CNBC American Greed episode.
"He got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, literally," one town member sums up.
Watch the sneak peek of Discovery+'s Fruitcake Fraud above!
Fruitcake Fraud premieres Wednesday, Dec. 1 on Discovery+.
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