Why the CEO of Food Market is facing more than 100 years in prison

Late Thursday afternoon, federal prosecutors indicted Caesar “Sonny” DiCrecchio for allegedly embezzling $7.8 million from a Wholesale Produce Market based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

DiCreechio served as CEO and President of the market for 20 years before resigning in 2018. This reportedly occurred after investigators began building a case against him.

According to court documents, DiCreechio now faces two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of aggravated identity theft, and four counts of tax evasion.

Because DiCreechio oversaw all of the Produce Markets’ expenses, he is suspected of being able to explain missing earnings away with upkeep costs. These may have been falsely documented as maintenance expenses, snow removal, insurance, and legal fees.

Moreover, once investors started to probe inconsistencies in DiCreechio”s financial reports, he is believed to have cashed checks to knowing parties with the hopes of keeping them silent.

“The Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market has and continues to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office in this matter, and we look forward to those criminally responsible for the fraud being held accountable,” a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market said in a press release.

Prosecutors believe DiCreechio pocketed various amounts of money from the company, over the course of several years, in order to cover personal expenses. At the time of this writing, DiCrecchio is alleged to have operated with two co-conspirators. Each accused of helping him conceal the laundering of roughly $319,736 from the Food Market.

One of these alleged co-conspirators,  Thomas Del Borrello faces eight counts of aggravated false filing of a currency transaction report and one count of aggravated failure to file a currency transaction report.

According to IRS reports, DiCrecchio’s allegedly attempted to evade $2.1 million in federal income tax between 2014 and 2017.

The personal expenses supplemented by DiCrecchio’s wire fraud are said to include the following:

•Using company funds to pay $1.9 million in rent on his Stone Harbor, New Jersey shore house

•Converting into cash $1.1 million in checks drawn on the market’s bank account and using the cash for his own benefit

•Causing $1.7 million in checks to be issued from the market’s operating account to his friends or relatives

•Causing the market to pay for the defendant’s personal credit card expenditures

•Converting $320,000 in checks that were payable to the market and cashing them for his own benefit

•Skimming $2.6 million in cash from the pay gate at the market’s parking lot, which he used to pay market employees ‘under the table’ while keeping a substantial portion for his own use

•Using Market funds to provide a $180,000 loan to a vendor, which the vendor repaid directly to DiCrecchio

“Complexity will not hide crime from law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. “Further, and as alleged here, ‘nickel and dime’ theft – skimming small amounts here and there over many years – is just as illegal as stealing one large lump sum. The charges announced today reflect our office’s commitment to uncovering and prosecuting complicated financial frauds.”

If convicted, DiCrecchio could face up to 102 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, and a fine of $2,500,000.