Rochester Firm Sues to Recover Funds Lost to Embezzlement
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A court hearing was held this week regarding a civil lawsuit stemming from a major embezzlement case involving a well-known Rochester company that resulted in criminal charges against two of the firm's top executives.
Reichel Foods and Stowaway Storage filed the lawsuit earlier this year against Tom Wiechmann and Loretta Taylor, along with their spouses and Wiechmann's children. Wiechmann, who lives in Austin, entered an Alford plea to a felony theft by swindle charge last November and was sentenced to three years on probation. The Alford plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict him.
Wiechmann was employed as the Chief Financial Officer at Reichel Foods and was charged with stealing more than $600,000 from the company between 2013 and 2019. Taylor worked as the financial controller for the company and is charged with aiding and abetting theft by swindle involving unauthorized credit card transactions valued at over $150,000 between 2013 and 2021. The criminal case against the St. Charles woman is still pending.
The civil lawsuit alleges Wiechmann and Taylor used their positions as the two most senior finance employees at Reichel Foods to "work both separately and together to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars." It claims they used a "myriad of sophisticated methods," including misusing company credit cards, submitting false expense reimbursement requests, taking over Reichel Foods' sole authority to use its company credit card reward points, and even falsely reducing the reported revenue from the storage business to hide to an improper transfer.
Among the specific allegations is a claim that Wiechmann used his company credit card to purchase a seat license at US Bank Stadium and a commemorative brick bearing his and his wife's names. It's also alleged that he used company funds to purchase Vikings home game tickets for himself, his family, and his friends. The court record also states that "since his termination, and despite being asked to do so, Tom refused to turn over the Reichel Foods seat license or to inform the Vikings that the brick should bear the name of Reichel Foods until February of this year.
In naming the other family members in the lawsuit, it alleges they knowingly benefited from the illegal activity and in some cases participated by using company credit cards without authorization to make personal purchases and other methods.
The lawsuit seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages.
