Former Coca-Cola Executive Sentenced for Wire Fraud

Jeffrey David Shamp, a former Senior National Account Executive with the Coca-Cola Company, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison on charges that he siphoned over $400,000 from the Atlanta beverage company for his own personal use.  Shamp, 40, of Cincinnati, has also been ordered to pay $411,550 in restitution.

While employed with Coca-Cola, Shamp was authorized to order American Express checks to be used as part of a sale incentive program for customers.  In a scheme that ran from November 2005 through September 2011, Shamp fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 in AMEX gift checks and used them to pay for his personal expenses including: alimony, rent payments, and gifts to friends and relatives.

Shamp was indicted by a federal grand jury in October of last year and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on February 27, 2014 before United States District Court Judge Steve C. Jones.

“Corporate employees who steal hurt their employer, fellow colleagues, their customers, and the community,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. “By putting his personal gain above all else, Shamp has earned this time in federal prison.”

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Grimberg and Intern Ryan Freeman prosecuted the case.