Former AWG Employee Pleads Guilty to Fraud

SN STAFF

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A former employee of Associated Wholesale Grocers has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in connection with a scheme to create and submit false invoices that embezzled more than $100,000 since 2004.

Mary Ellen Schorgl, who was AWG’s property and lease administration manager from 2003 to 2011, faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to U.S. District Court documents filed this week.

Schorgl, who was responsible for overseeing various properties controlled by the cooperative wholesaler, submitted false invoices for payment, forged endorsements, then submitted checks into accounts run by her and her husband. The scheme was revealed after an internal audit by AWG earlier this year.