Feds indict QVC manager for allegedly being ringleader in a nearly $2 million bogus invoice scheme
The U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia charged a former lighting manager at QVC Inc., the West Chester-based TV and online shopping network, for allegedly orchestrating the submission of $1.8 million in bogus invoices between 2006 and 2013.
The U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia charged a former lighting manager at QVC Inc., the West Chester-based TV and online shopping network, for allegedly orchestrating the submission of $1.8 million in bogus invoices between 2006 and 2013.
Douglas S. Rae, a 58-year-old Bethlehem man, faces 20 years in prison, an $8.75 million fine and paying full restitutiton on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors say in court documets filed last week.
Rae submitted fake invoices to QVC through two companies he controlled, Lighting Equipment Sales and Service Inc. and Lighting Products International Inc., according to the indictment.
Rae also funneled fake invoices to QVC through two other individuals, John R. Hodde, 53, of Aubrey, Texas, and Michael H. Keppler, 58, of Ridgewood, N.J., who were charged in the alleged scam.
"At QVC, we take reports of unethical or unlawful business conduct on the part of our employees very seriously. We are cooperating fully with the criminal proceeding," QVC spokeswoman Diane Zappas said in a statement on Thursday.
QVC employed Rae, manager of lighting for studio operations, between July 1997 and May 2013, the company said.