Former Nike Manager Sentenced to 31 Months in Prison on Embezzlement Charges
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a former Nike Inc. marketing manager to 31 months in prison and three years of supervised release on charges related to embezzlement.
Errol Andam, who worked at Nike between 2001 and 2018, was also ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.
More from Footwear News
Nike Continues Its Transformation of Retail With Two New Boston Stores
Why This Entrepreneur Left Nike to Found a Startup With VF to Fight Climate Change
In February, federal prosecutors in Oregon accused Andam of embezzling $1.4 million between September 2016 and December 2018 in a scheme to defraud Nike. Andam pleaded guilty in April to criminal charges of wire fraud, money laundering and submitting a false mortgage application.
“This was not a momentary lapse,” said U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman, according to a report. “This took time and planning.”
FN has reached out to Nike for comment.
According to court documents, Andam enlisted a childhood friend to create a series of “pop-up” stores as an independent Nike contractor in the summer of 2016. Prosecutors alleged that Andam used his position within Nike to make sure his friend’s company received Nike contracts for these jobs. While the proceeds from the sales were meant to be credited against the total owed by Nike to the friend’s company, Andam instead pocketed the proceeds and still charged Nike full cost for contracted services. He also used an alter ego, “Frank Little,” to charge Nike and manage the contract company’s account with San Francisco-based digital payments provider Square Inc.
“Andam used his authority as a manager at Nike to ensure that his friend’s company was consistently awarded the contracts for these jobs,” authorities said in a statement in February. “Though he had no formal role in his friend’s company, Andam assumed control of much of the company’s financial operations, managing financial accounts and issuing invoices to Nike.”
Nike previously shared that its own internal investigation team uncovered Andam’s activity in 2017. After Andam was terminated, the Swoosh went to the U.S. Attorney with evidence. In a statement in February, Nike said, “It’s unfortunate that Mr. Andam, who had a job that allowed him access to some of the most exciting events in the world of sport, chose to abuse the trust that Nike put in him.”
Best of Footwear News
Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
