BAY CITY, MI — A week before his trial was to begin, an Essexville man accused of embezzling a five-figure sum from Michigan’s largest beer wholesaler accepted a plea deal.
Daniel J. Fabera, 34, on June 1 appeared before Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill and pleaded no contest to the lone count he faced — embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $20,000 and $50,000. The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine triple the value of what was stolen.
Though there were no additional charges to dismiss, the prosecution is recommending Fabera receive a delayed sentence, which would effectively place him on probation. If he receives that delayed sentence and is successful on it, he will then be allowed to withdraw his felony plea and replace it with a plea to a misdemeanor, said defense attorney Marcus R. Garske.
A condition of Fabera’s delayed sentence will be that he repay the amount he stole, around $45,000.
Fabera’s trial was slated to begin June 7.
Fabera pleaded no contest rather than guilty for due to civil liability, Garske said. By pleading as such, Fabera did not admit to having committed a crime, leaving Gill to rely on documents to enter a conviction on the record.
Police reports contained in court files state Fabera had worked as a delivery driver for Fabiano Brothers Inc., headquartered at 1885 Bevanda Court in Monitor Township. In late July, police met with Chief Operating Officer John Bicknell who reported Fabera had stolen a large sum of money.
Fabera would deliver the correct amount of ordered alcohol to a store, accept cash payment for it, then void the original invoice to state he had delivered less, Bicknell said. Fabera would then pocket the difference, he said.
The stores, meanwhile, showed they had paid their full amounts on the original invoices, records show.
The issue came to light when a Fabiano sales representative noticed Fabera had voided an invoice to a grocery store because a portion of the order was not on the truck. The grocery store’s management told the sales rep that she had received the complete order and paid in full, reports show.
Fabiano staff then began looking through Fabera’s delivery record. Bicknell went back to Jan. 1, 2019, and provided a summary of all the voided invoices to police.
Fabera had allegedly stolen about $45,000 from 16 businesses, most of which are located in Flint, Clio, and Lapeer, records show.
Bicknell subsequently met with Fabera and his union representative. Fabera denied having stolen money. Bicknell placed him on unpaid leave for two weeks, after which Fabera submitted a resignation letter, reports state.
Michigan State Police troopers interviewed Fabera in August, during which Fabera denied any wrongdoing. When troopers confronted him with invoices and order records, Fabera said it did not make sense and that he only voided invoices due to issues upon delivery.
Asked by troopers why the stores had only the initial invoices and not voided ones, Fabera said, “If I were to do this it would be because Fabiano Brothers overworks their employees and underpays them,” troopers wrote in their reports.
Fabera went on to say some of the stores asked him to void the invoices to save them money and that he would get cash, liquor and cigarettes in return. He also said that if he received cash, it was about 25% of what he had cut off their bill.
Fabera said he began doing this in 2018 and doubled his pay as a result. When troopers again pressed him on why the stores didn’t have the voided invoices, Fabera said he did the crime on his own, without the stores’ staff asking him to do so. He also told the troopers he was not the only delivery driver engaging in such conduct, reports show.
Fabera is free on bond and is scheduled for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. on July 18.
Founded in 1885, Fabiano Brothers operates distribution facilities in Monitor Township, Petoskey and Wausau, Wisconsin. The company distributes beer and non-alcoholic beverages to 24 counties in Michigan and Wisconsin. It employs nearly 500 people and has more than 3,500 clients.
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