Trail of thefts followed Napa wine executive
Trail of thefts followed Napa wine executive
Jun 21, 2013 6(PressDemocrat) - Friends of Chris Edwards describe the Napa man as a friendly, thoughtful guy who was always there when they needed him.
But interviews and public records reveal a side of Edwards that few knew before the wine executive was accused this week of embezzling $900,000 from his employer.
In 1993, Edwards was convicted of multiple counts of larceny in North Carolina, for amounts exceeding $200, according to public records. Then, as an executive at the wine company New Vine Logistics in 2005, he was accused of depositing three of the company’s checks, totaling about $1,300, into an account in his name, according to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday, after a two-month investigation by the FBI, Martin Christopher Edwards, who went by “Chris” in Wine Country, was accused of siphoning money from The Wine Tasting Network, a subsidiary of 1-800-Flowers.com.
Now, the company has shuttered its Napa direct-to-consumer wine shipping office and shifted those operations to Chicago, a company spokesman confirmed.
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