Restaurant manager sentenced to prison for embezzling $300,000 from employer

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ATLANTA – Scott Spilberg has been sentenced to prison for embezzling over $300,000 from his employer by using his company charge card for personal visits to adult entertainment clubs.

“Spilberg was trusted by his employer and betrayed that trust by shelling out more than $300,000 of company funds at adult entertainment clubs,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.

“This greedy defendant abused his position to fund his own lifestyle. Because of his actions, the restaurant, and people he was chosen to lead suffered the impacts,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “People who brazenly steal from their employers should expect to be held accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Spilberg was hired as the manager at Houck’s Grille in August 2020.  Beginning in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spilberg began using his company issued debit card to pay for his visits to two adult entertainment clubs.  Ultimately, he visited the clubs more than 50 times during an 11-month period, charging over $300,000 to the company debit card.  The loss of this money caused a significant hardship to the restaurant and threatened the livelihood of its 40 employees and forced it to borrow COVID-relief funds to stay in business.

Scott Spilberg, 56, of Canton, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $300,533.78.  Spilberg was convicted on September 19, 2022, after he pleaded guilty to the offense of wire fraud.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistant of the Roswell Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.