BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB) – A former employee of Mars, Inc. was indicted on charges that he defrauded the candy maker out of millions of dollars.
Paul Steed, 58, of Stamford, had a nine-count indictment returned against him for fraud and tax offenses, according to acting U.S. states attorney Marc Silverman.
The indictment was returned on Tuesday. Steed was arrested on Wednesday morning.
He faced a judge in Bridgeport and entered a plea of not guilty.
The indictment claimed that between about 2011 and 2023, Steed was employed by Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars. Inc. He worked remotely from his home in Stamford.
The indictment said Steed served as Global Price Risk Manager for Mars Wrigley’s Global Cocoa Enterprise.
“As part of his employment, Steed was responsible for managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program,” Silverman outlined. “In approximately 2016, Steed created a company, MCNA LLC, to mimic an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America. He then diverted millions of dollars in Mars assets to a bank account he set up in MCNA’s name by directing sugar refineries purchasing Mars’s re-export credits, obtained through the USDA program, to pay MCNA LLC as if it were a legitimate Mars entity.”
The indictment also claimed that Mars had an ownership interest in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., a financial services company that operated financial exchanges and clearing houses, and received quarterly dividends in connection with that ownership.
“In 2017, Steed directed Computershare Limited, a company that [Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.] utilized for stock-related services, to pay MCNA LLC for Mars’s dividends from its ownership shares in [Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.],” Silverman said. “As a result, more than $700,000 in dividend payments were diverted to the MCNA LLC account.”
Silverman said that in 2023, after Steed had used a fraudulent letter made to appear from the Mars Treasurer authorizing him to trade [Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.] shares, Steed directed Computershare to sell Mars’s [Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.] shares entirely.
“Computershare issued a check in the amount of more than $11.3 million, which Steed deposited into the MCNA LLC account,” Silverman said.
The indictment further claimed that, from 2013 through 2020, Steed used a company he owned called Ibera LLC to invoice Mars for services Mars did not receive. Mars paid Ibera LLC approximately $580,000 through that scheme.
The indictment charged Steed with seven counts of wire fraud. He was also charged with two counts of tax evasion for failing to report and pay taxes on his stolen income.
According to statements made in court, Steed was accused of stealing more than $28 million from Mars and through his schemes. More than $18 million was seized on Wednesday for forfeiture, and the government sought to forfeit a Greenwich home that Steed was alleged to have purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds. It was also alleged that another $2 million was sent by Steed to Argentina, where he is a dual citizen, has family ties, and owns a ranch.
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