The US Oregon District Attorney’s Office says a long-time former Nike has taken several steps to defraud the company of nearly $ 1.5 million over two years.
According to a press release, Errol Amorin Andam is accused of bank fraud, money laundering and making false statements regarding a loan application. Andam, who worked at the brand from 2001 until its demise in 2018, was the latest marketing manager for the North American retail brand, a position that led him to organize promotional pop-up events. The federations say that Andam used these events to fulfill his fraud scheme.
Since the summer of 2016, Andam is said to have hired a childhood friend as an independent contractor to help build pop-ups. Without Nike’s knowledge, Andam was financially involved in his friend’s company and would send invoices to the brand under a false name, Frank Little.
During the pop-up events, Andam allegedly took over Square credit card sales through a reader for his friend’s company, telling both Nike and his friend that the fees were reimbursed for the amount Nike owed for the construction. Instead, Andam allegedly kept the money for him, billing Nike for all the sums under the name Frank Little.
Andam is said to have used a defunct LLC as a shell company to multiply nearly $ 1.5 million in Nike’s revenue in its accounts. The loan application fee is linked to a July 2018 attempt to secure a residential mortgage. He now faces up to 30 years in federal prison with fines of up to $ 4.5 million.
Nike issued the following statement on the matter: “Nike’s internal investigation team discovered Mr. Andam’s business in 2017 and, after he was fired from the company, handed over the evidence to the US lawyer. It is unfortunate that Mr. Andam, who had a job that gave him access to some of the most interesting events in the world of sports, chose to abuse the trust that Nike placed in him. We want to thank the US prosecutor for his efforts in this case. ”