Former HD Employee To Plead Guilty in Scheme

Atlanta, GA, May 30, 2008--A former Home Depot manager plans to plead guilty to charges in an international scheme to make money by connecting foreign flooring suppliers with buyers who chose products for the home improvement retailer, according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.

Anthony Tesvich, 42, will plead guilty in the case, his attorney told the newspaper.

Tesvich's case was bound over to U.S. District Judge Richard Story on Thursday.

Tesvich, who was fired by the home improvement chain in 2005, allegedly funneled money for cars and house renovations to two buyers.

Prosecutors say that what happened at Home Depot, a major flooring retailer, is an example of the competitive nature of gaining shelf space in major retailers.

A civil complaint filed Jan. 8 describes how Tesvich devised a scheme to hook up flooring suppliers from China, Taiwan, India, Turkey and Venezuela with Ronald K. Johnston, a tile buyer, and James P. Robinson, a rug buyer.

The documents, the newspaper said, alleged that Tesvich, a 19-year Home Depot employee, may have made millions of dollars by being a middleman.

Prosecutors said that Tesvich set up U.S. companies to represent seven foreign flooring manufacturers.

Money from his companies was allegedly used to pay for Robinson's cars and Johnston's home improvements in return for millions of dollars in flooring orders for the manufcturers.