Georgia Man Charged With Defrauding Williams Sonoma of Over $10 Million

A Georgia man has been accused of defrauding his former employer Williams Sonoma of more than $10 million.
According to the Northern District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ben Thomas III was indicted Sept. 18 with eight counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering.
From 2016 to 2023, Thomas was the general manager of a Williams Sonoma distribution facility in Braselton, Georgia, the statement reported. He had “the authority to hire temporary staffing vendors and approve payments up to $50,000 to vendors,” according to the statement. He was neither allowed to self-deal nor allowed to bill the San Francisco-based company for work from another company that he’s affiliated with.
Thomas allegedly registered a fake staffing company called Empire Logistics Services that billed Williams Sonoma over $10 million for work that Empire never did. Thomas kept it a secret that he founded and controlled the fictitious company. Between 2017 and 2023, he allegedly approved about 335 payments for fraudulent invoices his company had sent to Williams Sonoma, each one less than the $50,000 limit. Williams Sonoma then submitted the payments.
The 48-year-old allegedly spent the money on a 12,000-square-foot mansion, a yacht, automobiles, tickets to professional sporting events, pet cloning, and professional landscaping services for the mansion.
Thomas’s first federal court appearance will be on Oct. 1 in San Francisco before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter H. Kang.
If convicted, Thomas faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, for each count of wire fraud; and 10 years of imprisonment as well as a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, for each count of money laundering.
Thomas’s attorney, Christiaan Highsmith, informed the Epoch Times via email that he has declined to comment on the case.