MN Executive Embezzled $3 Million From His Company: Feds

ST. PAUL, MN — A former Minnesota executive pleaded guilty last month to wire fraud after authorities accused him of embezzling more than $3 million from his employer.

A sentencing date for David Efrem Katz, 56, has not yet been scheduled. He currently lives in Arizona.

Katz worked for D&A from approximately 1998 to 2017, starting as an accountant and eventually becoming CFO, according to authorities.

As CFO, he was allowed to open credit cards in the company's name and use them for some business expenses. However, Katz was not authorized to charge personal expenses to the cards or take out loans on D&A’s behalf.

Between 2012 through 2017, authorities said Katz:

• Paid himself $6,500 every two weeks as a salary despite his base salary never being more than $47,500 annually
• Reimbursed himself for personal expenses and business expenses he never actually incurred.
• Reimbursed himself somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000 every two weeks, labeling these payments as miscellaneous earnings and reimbursements, "recovery loans," bonuses, and commissions

Katz pleaded guilty on June 26. The case against him was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.