Lake Forest Exec Named In Alcohol Giant's $12.5M Bribery Case That Exposed Corruption On CA Grocery Shelves

LAKE FOREST, CA — The nation’s largest alcohol distributor will pay $12.5 million to resolve a federal investigation into years of improper payments, false invoices, and luxury benefits tied to wine and spirits sales in California supermarkets, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits entered into a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors and agreed to pay the United States $12.5 million.

The company also agreed to strengthen compliance and cooperate with criminal prosecutions involving current or former employees. Among the employees named inthe indictment is Michael Dehdashtian, 48, of Lake Forest.

Southern Glazer is the country’s largest distributor of wine and spirits with operations in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

In California, where Southern Glazer is the largest distributor of alcohol by volume, the investigation reached multiple levels of the alcohol industry in Rohnert Park, San Francisco, Union City, Walnut Creek, Livermore, Oakland, Pleasanton, Napa, several Southern California cities, and Idaho. Distributors such as Southern Glazer play a major role in what gets stocked on retailers' shelves and behind the bars at restaurants and clubs. They also help determine what customers get charged.

The investigation found that Southern Glazer’s executives and employees funded and concealed improper payments and benefits for employees of alcohol retailers, including chain grocery stores in California and elsewhere.

Southern Glazer’s admitted responsibility for its employees’ actions, including years of payments and benefits connected to the promotion, purchase, retention, and placement of alcohol products distributed by the company.

These included off-book “creative incentive” payments to Southern Glazer employees, and improper gifts, travel, entertainment expenses, or other payments to retail customer employees — which were at times facilitated through the use of third-party vendors.

They were, at times, documented with falsified invoices, according to court documents.

Several California-based vice presidents directly participated in the conduct, according to the agreement.

Employees provided cash, prepaid gift cards, flights, golf trips, resort stays, and luxury goods and used third-party vendors and fabricated invoices to conceal the expenses.

The National Security, Cyber and Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California handled the investigation.

Earlier Criminal Cases

Southern Glazer’s agreement follows indictments accusing a Napa winery salesman, a Walnut Creek wine executive, former company executives, and other industry figures of disguising luxury benefits as business expenses.

Court documents originally identified Southern Glazer as "Distributor-1" with a major Northern California facility.

The former Southern Glazer’s employees named in the March 3 indictment were Dehdashtian; Ryan Dow, 40, of Upland; Stephen Magliocco, 47, of Trabuco Canyon; Loratina Muscara, 64, of Livermore; and Adrian Ruiz, 54, of Corona.

The indictment also charged Michael Sean Salene, 60, a wine executive who most recently worked for Roots Run Deep Winery in Napa, according to reports.

Wine suppliers Matthew Adler of Walnut Creek and Bryan Barnes of Los Angeles County faced similar charges in 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Adler left Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits in 2021 to work for Napa-based Demeine Estates.

Federal Charges

Between 2016 and 2024, former employees of the distributor allegedly conspired to offer grocery-chain employees golf trips, exercise equipment, prepaid gift cards worth as much as $1,000 each, and luxury watches and purses in exchange for prime shelf space.

Federal prosecutors accused the participants of using approved vendors and fabricated invoices to disguise the benefits as legitimate business expenses.

Prosecutors accused Salene of bribing the head alcohol buyer for a national grocery chain that operates about 300 California stores. They also accused him of lying to investigators and falsifying invoices to conceal the scheme.

Salene faces charges of Travel Act bribery and making false statements.

Grocery chains offer limited shelf space for alcohol, particularly in competitive categories such as Napa wines and premium spirits.

Brands that secure those spaces can increase sales. Napa producers depend heavily on grocery and retail placement to reach customers beyond tasting rooms.

Federal law prohibits incentives that influence a retailer’s purchasing decisions, including cash, luxury gifts, prepaid gift cards, and travel benefits. It also prohibits hidden reimbursements disguised as marketing expenses and invoices used to fund those benefits, according to federal authorities.

“One of government’s top jobs is to ensure a level playing field for American business,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said.

“Southern Glazer’s employees tried to distort the wine and spirits market in California through bribes and other improper conduct and in the end it was the consumer that lost out.”

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