A Stamford man has pleaded guilty to defrauding a candy manufacturer where he worked out of $28 million.
Paul R. Steed, 58, of Stamford took a plea deal on Thursday in federal court in Bridgeport, pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Federal authorities said he was employed between 2011 and 2023 at Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars. Inc. — which is based in Virginia and manufactures candy, pet food and other food products. He worked remotely from his home and served in several positions, the last of which was as the Global Price Risk Manager for Mars Wrigley’s Global Cocoa Enterprise, officials said.
Part of Steed’s responsibilities included managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program. Around 2016, authorities allege, Steed created a company called MCNA LLC, which was made to mimic an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America. Federal officials allege he then diverted more than $15 million 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.”
According to federal officials, Mars had an ownership interest in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE”), a financial services company that operated financial exchanges and clearing houses, and received quarterly dividends in connection with that ownership. In 2017, Steed allegedly directed Computershare Limited, a company that ICE utilized for stock-related services, to pay MCNA LLC for Mars’s dividends from its ownership shares in ICE.
“As a result, more than $700,000 in dividend payments were diverted to the MCNA LLC account,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
In 2023, after Steed had allegedly used a fraudulent letter purportedly from the Mars Treasurer authorizing him to trade ICE shares, Steed directed Computershare to sell Mars’s ICE shares entirely, authorities said. Computershare issued a check for more than $11.3 million, which Steed allegedly deposited into the MCNA LLC account, according to officials.
Authorities allege Steed also used a company he owned called Ibera LLC to invoice Mars for services Mars did not receive between 2013 and 2020, according to officials. Mars paid Ibera LLC more than $700,000 through this scheme.
Federal officials said Steed did not pay any taxes on the income he stole. The charges he pleaded guilty to expose him to as many as 45 years in prison.
As part of the plea deal, Steed has agreed to pay nearly $28.5 million in restitution to Mars, Inc. Authorities said he also owes the IRS an additional $10.3 million in back taxes.
The government has seized more than $18 million from bank accounts controlled by Steed, which authorities said he has agreed to forfeit. Officials said they are also looking to forfeit, or alternatively liquidate for restitution, a Greenwich home that Steed is alleged to have purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds.
Federal officials believe he also sent another $2 million to Argentina where he is a dual citizen, has family ties and owns a ranch.
Steed was arrested on March 26 and is free on a $5 million bond pending his sentencing on Dec. 9.
