Three jewellery industry executives pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that they were part of a $20 million rip-off of a financing company, federal officials said.
The executives - Joshua Kestenbaum, Christopher Shaw and Jon Browne- pleaded guilty to bank and wire fraud conspiracy charges stemming from a fraud against Capital Factors Inc. that occurred between 1999 and 2003, according to investigators and court documents.
In addition Whitehall Jewellers Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-traded company that employed Browne as its chief financial officer, accepted responsibility for the wrongdoing of its employees.
In return for an agreement with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn that it would not be prosecuted, Whitehall agreed to restructure its management and implement safeguards against fraud, federal prosecutors disclosed. The company also agreed to pay several million dollars in restitution.
