Criminal Justice
Property Forfeiture Sought in Kickback Probe of Ex-Home Depot Managers
Posted Mar 4, 2008, 06:43 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Federal prosecutors in Atlanta are seeking the forfeiture of nine properties, luxury cars and more than $300,000 owned by three former Home Depot executives under investigation for taking alleged kickbacks.
None of the former managers—Anthony Tesvich, his wife Melissa, James P. Robinson and Ronald K. Johnston—has been charged with any crimes. They are named as “persons of interest” in the forfeiture complaint, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. Court papers indicate a two-year investigation is still ongoing. It involves allegations that foreign vendors paid kickbacks to obtain Home Depot business.
The complaint contends that one of the managers, Anthony Tesvich, collected more than $10 million from international firms through bank accounts owned by companies he controlled, the story says.
Among the properties sought by prosecutors are resort real estate in Hot Springs, Calif., Alabama and Tennessee. Attorneys for Johnston and Melissa Tesvich have gotten stays of the forfeiture proceedings until the criminal investigation is complete.