Food Company Accuses Veteran Sales Agent of Embezzling $90,000
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Food company Neto Melinda has sued a former sales agent, K, for allegedly embezzling approximately $90,000 over several years by creating fake customer accounts and issuing fraudulent credits. The agent admitted to the actions but claimed they were for "acts of kindness." The company discovered the alleged fraud during an internal investigation prior to his termination after 13 years of employment. Neto Melinda is seeking the return of the funds and forfeiture of his severance pay.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Neto Melinda is suing former sales agent K for allegedly embezzling $90,000 through fake accounts and credits.
- The agent admitted to the actions during a hearing but claimed they were for "acts of kindness."
- The company discovered the alleged fraud during an internal investigation prior to the agent's termination.
- The agent allegedly created fictitious branches and diverted goods to other destinations.
- Neto Melinda is seeking the return of funds and forfeiture of the agent's severance pay.
Food company Neto Melinda is suing a former sales agent, identified only as K, for allegedly defrauding the company of approximately $90,000 over several years. The company claims the agent created fictitious customer accounts and issued fake credits to divert large quantities of meat products, then concealed his actions. Neto Melinda, the fifth-largest food company in Israel and controlled by Adi Ezra and David Metsa, has filed two lawsuits against the agent, seeking the return of the allegedly stolen funds and forfeiture of his severance pay.
According to court documents, the agent, who worked for the company for 13 years, admitted to the actions during an internal hearing but claimed he did so for "acts of kindness." Neto Melinda stated that the agent established a mechanism to issue credits for price differences to company customers without their knowledge or receipt of the credit. Subsequently, orders and invoices were generated that were linked to these credits but not delivered to the intended customers.
The company discovered the alleged fraud during an internal investigation prior to the agent's termination. Evidence included invoices and credits for meat supplied to a dairy bakery, which raised suspicions of a scam. The investigation revealed the agent had created fictitious branches under existing customers' names and issued credit memos for returned or canceled goods without the customers' consent or knowledge.
Neto Melinda detailed a sophisticated scheme involving a Jerusalem hotel, where the agent allegedly generated fictitious credits totaling around $48,000. He then requested a credit of approximately $25,000 for price differences for the hotel, which was issued but not delivered. The agent reportedly used this credit to offset deliveries to a fictitious distribution point in Bnei Brak, including poultry worth about $4,500, which were not delivered to the hotel or the fictitious branch but diverted elsewhere.
Another instance involved an invoice for about $21,000 for poultry, fish, and pizzas to a different customer. The same day, a credit invoice for about $13,000 was issued for part of the goods, and a tax invoice for the same amount was sent to the Jerusalem hotel. This diverted the payment obligation from the customer to the hotel, which did not pay due to the fictitious credit created in its name.