Chris Olivera, the former vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for GameStop Corp., was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison Thursday for embezzling more than $1.9 million from the video game retailer.
In November, Olivera pled guilty to the scheme that he conducted over a two-year period. In 2011, GameStop fired Olivera, a Grapevine resident who previously worked at RadioShack in Fort Worth. He had faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.A news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas said Olivera, 46, had repaid all but $57,376 in embezzled funds to GameStop. At the sentencing in Dallas, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle ordered him to repay the balance as well as $77,275 in additional restitution.According to the indictment, Olivera processed invoices from vendors as part of his job. But starting in July 2009 and ending in April 2011, he funneled money to a fake company he created, called Cloud Communications, with offices in Canada, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, as well as a fictitious employee named Jennifer Miller.Olivera would submit written invoices for services that were never provided to GameStop, court filings said. Once the money was deposited into Cloud Communications accounts, it was transferred into Olivera's personal bank account, they said. The mail fraud count stems from a $40,500 check issued by Olivera at GameStop in September 2009, the filings said.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727Twitter: @SandraBakerFWSTHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
