Atlanta Man Sentenced in Home Depot Fraud

Anthony M. Tesvich, 42, of Atlanta, was sentenced this week by United States District Judge Richard Story to serve over six years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing false tax returns, in connection with a scheme to defraud Home Depot.

Tesvich was sentenced to serve six years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $8,292,949 in restitution. Judge Story also ordered Tesvich to forfeit all assets obtained with proceeds of the fraud scheme, including property in Smyrna, Ga.; Desert Hot Springs, Calif.; and Mobile, Ala. Tesvich pleaded guilty to the charges on June 30, 2008.

According to the information presented in court: From October 2002 through October 2007, Tesvich participated in a conspiracy to defraud Home Depot by taking kickbacks from vendors seeking to do business with Home Depot, paying kickbacks to fellow employees to further that scheme while he worked for Home Depot and continuing to pay kickbacks to his former colleagues when he left Home Depot to further the interests of those vendors. Tesvich took the payoffs from foreign suppliers/vendors to insure those vendors’ products were chosen for inclusion in Home Depot stores throughout the country.

After Tesvich left the company, he gave substantial cash payments—which he called “french fries” and “milkshakes”—to co-conspirator employees at Home Depot. One co-conspirator also received a luxury SUV from Tesvich. This scheme involved payoffs totaling more than $2.5 million.

Tesvich also evaded federal taxes on his corrupt income for tax years 2003 ($212,937 in unpaid taxes); 2004 ($821,981in unpaid taxes); and 2005 ($386,997 in unpaid taxes).