Former Nike promotional product manager Kyle Yamaguchi received five years of probation and 50 voluntary hours of community service for architecting an elaborate scheme to transport, receive and sell hundreds of stolen, rare sneakers. Not bad, considering that he pocketed nearly $200K for his role in the operation.
Yamaguchi, 33, faced five years in prison, but was given reprieve because he cooperated with the government in a way an Oregon judge described as “truly extraordinary.”
In other words, he dropped dime on his co-conspirators, Tung Wing Ho, who assumed Yamaguchi’s position at Nike’s Beaverton, Or. campus after he resigned back in 2012, and Florida sneaker dealer Jason Keating. Ho made nearly $600K, according to The Oregonian.
The same report says:
[Yamaguchi] presented prosecutors with a binder marked by colored tabs and choked with evidence, including emails and a spreadsheet of illegal transactions. Later, he wore a wire into at least one meeting with co-conspirator Jason Keating. He also produced a PowerPoint about the scheme for the very grand jury that indicted him.
Yamaguchi pleaded guilty last December. He also paid Nike $50K out of pocket as restitution in a civil settlement, surrendered his shoe collection to Secret Service agents and Nike, and re-filed his income tax forms to pay the IRS for the funds made from the transactions.
Ho and Keating have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their individual trials take place on April 21.
Most importantly, please keep in mind that there’s no honor among thieves.
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Photo: Nike
