Former Ruiz Foods Employee Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement

FRESNO, CA—Mark George Jankowski, 51, of Modesto, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to two-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling from his former employer Ruiz Foods, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Judge O’Neill ordered Jankowski to pay $691,483 in restitution for the amount embezzled and other costs incurred by the company. Jankowski was sentenced to three years of supervised release after his prison sentence and 200 hours of unpaid community service.

According to court documents, from December 2004 to July 2010, Jankowski, as Marketing Director of Ruiz Foods, embezzled approximately $448,366 from Ruiz Foods. He did this by creating invoices from false sales and marketing vendors billing Ruiz for supposed services performed. Jankowski then authorized the payment to these false vendors. The checks were either mailed to the vendors to addresses provided by Jankowski or were hand-delivered.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley A. Boone prosecuted the case.