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Former Rite Aid VP and Atlanta business owners charged in $5.7M kickback scheme

Shelby White//September 24, 2018//

Former Rite Aid VP and Atlanta business owners charged in $5.7M kickback scheme

Shelby White//September 24, 2018//

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James W. Pilsner, 60, of Harrisburg, was charged in a criminal information filed on Thursday with one count of wire fraud and one count of federal income tax evasion, according to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed.

He has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to both charges, court records show.

Pilsner, a former vice president for advertising for Cumberland County-based Rite Aid, allegedly engaged in a kickback scheme with Larry Nuckols and Vance Taylor, the owners of Nuvision Inc., an Atlanta-based consumer electronics company, between 1995 and August 2017.

Pilsner entered into an agreement with Nuckols and Taylor whereby Pilsner would approve payment for Nuvision’s invoices, some of which were false and inflated. In exchange, Nuckols and Taylor would return a significant portion of Rite Aid’s payments to Pilsner, according to Freed’s office.

Rite Aid allegedly paid Nuvision approximately $45.3 million between 2001 and August 2017.

Pilsner allegedly received at least $5.1 million in kickbacks over that time, with another $634,300 paid to other Rite Aid employees designated by Pilsner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“We are aware of this investigation and have been cooperating with the appropriate authorities as this matter was investigated. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its hard work during the investigation,” a spokeswoman for Rite Aid said.

Additionally, Pilsner is charged with income tax evasion for tax year 2013. In March 2014, Pilsner allegedly filed an income tax return with the IRS that did not report his receipt of $411,500 in kickback money during 2013, avoiding approximately $157,648 in federal income taxes.

Freed’s office seeks the forfeiture of Pilsner’s interests in $5.7 million and his Harrisburg residence.

Pilsner’s attorney, indicated on court documents, is Ann Ariano of Swatara Township law firm The Law Office of Ann E. Ariano. She was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

Nuckols, 69, of Valdosta, Georgia, an owner of Nuvision, is also charged with one count of wire fraud. Freed’s office is looking to seize Nuckols’ interests in nine properties located in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Costa Rica, plus Nuckols’ half interest in a $1.3 million yacht.

Nuckols agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud, court documents say. An attorney for Nuckols was not listed, and Nuckols could not immediately be reached for comment.

Taylor, 71, of Acworth, Georgia, also an owner of Nuvision, was indicted on Sept. 19, by a federal grand jury and charged with 40 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of $1.2 million, eight cash/investment accounts, 73 tracts of real estate in Georgia, Florida and Alabama and Taylor’s half interest in the $1.3 million yacht.

“Mr. Taylor will plead not guilty and expects to be acquitted at trial by a fair-minded and impartial jury,” said Taylor’s attorney, Steven H. Sadow of Atlanta law firm Steven H. Sadow, PC.

No date has been scheduled for the defendants’ initial appearances and arraignments on their charges before the U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.

The case is being investigated by the Harrisburg offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for mail fraud and wire fraud is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine.

The maximum penalty for unlawful monetary transactions is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine.

The maximum penalty for income tax evasion is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine.