| March 6, 2026 For Immediate Release | Office of Congressional and Public Affairs 202-453-2180 |
Federal Charges in Alcohol Industry Bribery and Obstruction Scheme
FY—26-1
Oakland – A federal grand jury has indicted five former employees of an alcohol distribution company with offices in Northern and Southern California for their roles in a scheme to bribe grocery store alcohol buyers and conceal bribes with false and forged financial documentation. A salesman for a Napa winery was also charged with bribery and making false statements.
According to the indictment, former employees of an alcohol distribution company, identified as Distributor-1, devised and participated in a scheme to provide bribes to employees of retail grocery chains to increase the purchases of certain alcohol brands and to obstruct any investigations into the bribes by creating and maintaining false financial documents to conceal these bribes.
The indictment explains that employees and suppliers of Distributor-1 knew that the distribution company and its partners were prohibited from paying bribes to alcohol retailers and wholesalers to purchase certain brands to the exclusion of others, and that the distribution company was subject to audit and inspection by TTB, which is the federal entity responsible for ensuring compliance with trade practice laws and regulations in the alcohol industry.
If convicted, defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprise – bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952(a)(3), and false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2); and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for falsification of records to obstruct investigations in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by TTB and IRS-CI.
A copy of the press release, which provides more detailed information, including on additional defendants associated with this case, is available here on the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California website.