Man pleads guilty to defrauding Williams Sonoma in multi-million-dollar scheme
An Irvine man pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million-dollar kickback scheme targeting San Francisco-based Williams Sonoma, according to an announcement Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the IRS.
Kourosh Mirmehdi, 63, admitted he conspired with two co-defendants to divert and steal millions of dollars of commercial real estate broker commission rebates that should have gone to the home goods retailer, which operates Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm.
Prosecutors said Mirmehdi worked for a global logistics company that assisted Williams Sonoma Inc. in securing commercial warehouse space, assisting in negotiating the lease terms for the corporation.
As part of the negotiations, the corporation was often entitled to receive millions of dollars in broker rebates after entering into commercial leasing agreements. Mirmehdi admitted that, beginning around 2020, he was involved in a conspiracy to steal those rebates by tricking real estate brokers into sending them to a shell company.
Mirmehdi was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 11, 2023, and charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Under the plea agreement, Mirmehdi pleaded guilty to the wire fraud conspiracy and the money laundering conspiracy counts.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 14, when he faces a maximum prison term of 20 years for each of the counts, plus up to $450,000 in fines.
The charges against Mirmehdi's co-defendants remain pending, prosecutors said.