Andrew Garson, 41, a once big-time public relations executive based in New York City, pled guilty in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday for involvement in a scheme that ultimately defrauded his former employers out of millions.
Despite having an established career and earning accolades, including being named a “40 Under 40” public relations executive by PRWeek magazine in July 2018, Garson spent years deceiving and causing substantial financial harm to his employers.
According to court documents, between approximately 2014 and 2018, Garson held executive positions at two marketing public relations agencies in New York, referred to as PR Firm-1 and PR Firm-2. During his time at the firms, Garson covered expenses from PR Firm-1 by making unauthorized payments from PR Firm-2, causing the latter to ultimately pay for many of the projects and campaigns led by Garson at PR Firm-1. Garson also used his company credit card to buy a luxury watch for $14,000, falsely claimed it was for a client’s event production, and later sold it for $4,000 and pocketed the funds personally.
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Furthermore, Garson submitted multiple reimbursement requests for the same expense, causing PR Firm-2 to reimburse him more than once for the same expense. Once his fraudulent behavior came to light, Garson was fired from PR Firm-2, after which he deceitfully obtained more than $5,000 in unemployment benefits from the New York State Department of Labor by providing false information about his separation from the company.
“Andrew Garson betrayed his employers time and time again, causing millions of dollars in losses,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Garson’s fraud scheme was multifaceted and manipulative, and he has now admitted to greedily exploiting his employers’ trust to line his own pockets.”
Garson, who pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, will pay $3,754,068 in restitution to the victims of his crime, and his sentencing is scheduled for February 28, 2024. Wire fraud carries a maximum 20-year sentence; a federal judge will sentence him.
Separately, Garson was hit with a $10 million civil lawsuit in November 2020 from one of his former employers, alleging that during his tenure as an executive vice president for sports and entertainment projects, Garson deceitfully acquired $2.5 million. The former employer accused him of manipulating budgets and fabricating marketing campaigns, some entirely “fictitious.”
The lawsuit claims that he convinced celebrities such as Megan Fox and Mindy Kaling to participate in unauthorized projects. When the stars requested payment for their involvement, the firm was hit with “demands for payment and/or lawsuits” for “over budget” projects that were never approved. The lawsuit is still pending.
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Source: entrepreneur.com