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

A customer leaves a Williams-Sonoma store in Corte Madera, Calif., on May 25, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to rooting out fraud in this District and to ensuring that those who abuse positions of trust and authority are held accountable for their actions,”  U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in a statement.

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.

Steve Sadow, lead counsel for Ben Thomas stated in an email to The Epoch Times: “Ben Thomas is not guilty of the offenses charged. Ben had no intention to defraud Williams Sonoma. Indeed, contrary to the allegations in the indictment, all vendor services invoiced to and paid for by the company were actually provided.”

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.