Florida Coffee Broker Sentenced in Sam’s Club Kickback Scheme

A Florida coffee broker and a Sam’s Club buyer have been sentenced in U.S. District Court after being found guilty of running a kickback scheme.

David Workman, a broker for Bay Area Coffee, was paying of Mark Hoffman, a senior buyer at Sam’s Club, working at the company’s office in Bentonville, Arkansas. According to prosecutors, from 2003 to 2007, Hoffman solicited monthly kickback payments from Workman in exchange for selecting Bay Area as a Sam’s Club supplier. The checks were made from a company owned by Workman to a shell company established by Hoffman.

Hoffman has been ordered to pay $245,800 in a forfeiture order that was entered before sentencing took place, representing the amount of the kickbacks received. Both men received three years’ probation, a $5,000 fine, and a special assessment of $100. Hoffman’s sentence also states that the first year of his probation will be served in home detention.