City Lighting Client Accused of Taking Kickbacks

St. Louis, MO: A Texas client of a local lighting company has been indicted on fraud charges involving his participation in a $90,000 kick back scheme, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

According to the indictment, Aaron Webb was an employee of Whole Foods Markets, Inc., Austin, Texas as the Director of Construction for the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Regions. City Lighting Products sells and distributes lighting products, fixtures and ballasts out of their offices in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kansas City, Missouri and Denver, Colorado. City Lighting sold lighting products to Whole Foods Markets, Inc, and one of their contacts was Aaron Webb. Legacy Lighting, Austin, Texas sells lighting design services as well as acting as a lighting product broker between suppliers and purchasers, and designed the Whole Foods stores lighting as well as identifying the appropriate light design of particular stores. The lighting product, after the design was approved by Whole Foods, would then be supplied by City Lighting or other companies. To secure this business, City Lighting would write up a proposed purchase order/quote outlining the required lighting products needed to meet the design specification for particular Whole foods stores.

The invoice/billing records from City Lighting to Whole Foods would be inflated to cover and conceal a bribe/kickback directly to Webb or indirectly to Webb through Legacy Lighting. The indictment alleges that these bribes/kickbacks would be paid with the approval and knowledge of management of City Lighting, St. Louis and Pittsburgh offices. The total of monies and gifts going directly to Webb was in excess of $90,000. Some of the money was converted to gifts to Webb (a boat and ATV’s) by Legacy Lighting.

Aaron N. Webb, 38, Austin, Texas was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of mail fraud. If convicted, mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

The following three people have were indicted on related charges, have pled guilty and await sentencing: James P. Shields, 39; Timothy K. Bode, 33; and Jeffrey M. Biffar, 35, all of Waterloo, IL.

Hanaway commended the work on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; and First Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Reap, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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