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iPROMOTEu Employee Arrested For Embezzlement; "Zero Impact" To Company Operations

A former employee of Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119), a company that generated about $140 million in revenues in 2015, was arrested for embezzling $111,780 from the organization by changing the label on his personal bank accounts to make it look like he was paying vendors on the company’s behalf. Court documents state that David Rodriguez, who was formerly listed on the company’s website as the manager of accounts payable, was accused of stealing from the company after a mortgage company called iPROMOTEu’s human resources department to confirm Rodriguez’s earnings, including a bonus of more than $11,000 that showed up on his bank statements. iPROMOTEu did not have record of the bonus, according to court documents.

“It’s an unfortunate situation and very disappointing,” Ed Burke, vice president of finance at iPROMOTEu, told Counselor. “However, we already have received some repayments and we expect to be fully repaid very soon. Regardless, the matter has zero impact on our operations.”

A police report from April 14 showed a Marlborough Savings Bank account that had nine deposits between June 2015 and March 2016, including an $18,864 payment on Dec. 29 last year. The report also showed a TD Bank account with seven deposits between December 2014 and April 2015.

Police records say that Rodriguez’s boss wrote a letter to him accusing him of embezzling $76,864. Rodriguez signed the letter, police say, admitting to stealing that amount. After that, the police report says, Rodriguez’s boss discovered more money missing and contacted the police. Rodriguez paid $11,750 back and the company withheld his final paycheck for $1,083.49, and court documents say that the remaining missing amount is now $98,947.

Police arrested Rodriguez on April 27, charging him with larceny over $250 by embezzlement. Rodriguez pleaded not guilty and was released without bail. Rodriguez is due back in court on May 23.

iPROMOTEu last year ranked as the 12th-largest distributor firm in the industry, and it reported order volume of nearly $140 million for 2015, an increase of 16% over the company’s results in the prior year.