A former executive for one of the world’s largest berry suppliers was sentenced to federal prison Thursday. Marc Marier from Napierville, Illinois, was sentenced in a San Jose federal courtroom to 29 months in prison after pleading guilty in June to wire fraud and money laundering. He was also ordered to repay nearly $ 1.5 million.
Prosecutors say Marier embezzled from Driscoll’s, a Watsonville, California, firm that works with growers worldwide and sells strawberries, blueberries and other berries in dozens of countries. The company has about a third of the global berry market.
In 2017, Marier was hired as director of real estate and workplace services and relocated from Illinois to California’s Central Valley. Shortly after being employed, Marier began submitting and approving false invoices from a phony business, and routing the payments to a bank account he controlled, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
As reported on apnews.com¸ Marier resigned after learning that the company was investigating him. The case later was referred to the FBI.