Federal prosecutors have announced charges against a former QVC director accused of scamming the shopping network and running a kickback scheme with vendors that netted him a million dollars in products and cash.
James D. Falkowski, 42, who was in charge of promoting QVC s brand in the entertainment and fashion industries, was indicted Thursday on 11 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy.
Prosecutors claim Falkowski bilked QVC out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, including first-class travel and chauffeur rides, luxury hotel and resort stays, spa treatments, upscale restaurants, high-end clothing, botox treatment and other luxuries.
Additionally, federal authorities accuse Falkowski of causing QVC to hire an outside Los Angeles-based public relations firm The Steinberg Group and a New York-based production company SPEC Entertainment to launder money and create false invoices to hide the cost of his charges.
Falkowski allegedly met with the executives of the two companies, including the Steinberg Group's general counsel, and advised them on how to become QVC vendor representatives, which would earn them royalties from the network. Falkowski allegedly gave the executives confidential information from QVC that enabled them to negotiate a higher royalty percentage--and in exchange, Falkowski received a cut, roughly $240,000. If convicted, Falkowski faces up to 11 years in prison.
This story is developing.