The US District Attorney’s Office in the Oregon District says that a former ex-Nike has taken several steps to defraud the company by about $ 1.5 million over a two-year period.
According to a press release, Errol Amorin Andam is accused of electronic fraud, money laundering and false statements in a loan application. Andam, who worked on the brand from 2001 until its termination in 2018, was most recently a retail brand marketing manager in North America, a position that put him in charge of creating pop-up promotional events. The feds say Andam used these events to carry out his fraud scheme.
In the early summer of 2016, Andam said he hired a childhood friend as an independent contractor to help build the pop-ups. Unbeknownst to Nike, Andam was financially involved in his friend’s company and was sending invoices to the brand under a false name, Frank Little.
During the pop-up events, Andam reportedly recorded Square’s credit card sales through a reader of his friend’s company, telling both Nike and his friend that the charges were a refund of the amount owed by Nike for the buildings . Instead, Andam was supposed to keep the money for himself, billing Nike the full amount under the name of Frank Little.
Andam said he used a defunct LLC as a front company to channel nearly $ 1.5 million of Nike’s earnings into his accounts. The loan application charge relates to a July 2018 attempt to secure a residential mortgage loan. He now faces up to 30 years in federal prison with fines of up to $ 4.5 million.
Nike issued the following statement on the matter: “Nike’s internal investigation team discovered Mr. Andam’s activity in 2017 and, after he was fired from the company, we handed over the evidence to the prosecutor. It is a pity that Mr. Andam, who had a job that allowed him to access some of the most exciting events in the world of sports, chose to abuse Nike’s confidence in him. We want to thank the United States Attorney for his efforts in this case. “