Overview
- Federal prosecutors in Oakland charged Newport Beach resident Patrick Briones with conspiracy to defraud the United States and commercial bribery.
- Court filings say he sought trips to Maui and Las Vegas, luxury watches, a designer handbag, casino chips and large prepaid cards to influence which wines were bought, kept or prominently displayed.
- Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from 2017 to early 2024 and was concealed with falsified invoices submitted to the TTB, with some payments not reported to the IRS.
- Albertsons confirmed Briones is a former employee and said it is cooperating with authorities, and records show he previously worked at Safeway before the 2015 merger.
- Briones has not been arrested or entered a plea; two supplier executives tied to the matter have already pleaded guilty, and the charges carry potential prison terms of up to five years for conspiracy and up to one year for commercial bribery.