Wait, So It's Illegal to Steal $1 Million From Your Job?

Saks Fifth Avenue's top-selling diamond saleswoman will go to jail for three months for cheating on her commissions, a New York judge ruled yesterday.

Cecille Villacorta -- who sold $27 million in fine jewelry to some 3,300 customers for the flagship Fifth Avenue store before getting busted -- must also pay a $96,000 fine and serve five years' probation and 100 hours of community service.

Saks had wanted her to serve at least two years in prison after she was convicted in March of 146 felonies, including grand larceny and falsifying business records and taking $48,000 in illegal commissions.

She screamed and hollared in the courtroom as the sentenced was handed down.

But the best part of the sentencing was the victim-impact statement from Saks.

"When employees steal from companies, they are not just violating the trust of their employer and damaging the reputation of the company that employs them; they are picking the pockets of all Americans," Andrea Robins, the director of customer relations for Saks Fifth Avenue, said in court on behalf of the company.

Villacorta, 52, had originally been charged with stealing $1 million by funneling the loot to her favorite customers through an elaborate scheme mixing refunds, discounts and sales credits. Prosecutors said she gave refunds on items customers never bought or returned and gave unauthorized discounts on expensive items. The prosecutor argued that the scheme allowed her to ring up sales of $27 million and collect hundreds of thousands in fraudulent commissions and bonuses between 2000 and 2006, when she was fired. According to Saks, they lost $1.4 million because of Villacorta's scheme.

But jurors acquitted her of that after she argued that Saks condoned these kinds of accommodations because the company mantra is "keep the customer happy."

She has promised to appeal the conviction and has filed a civil lawsuit charging Saks claiming malicious prosecution.

Her defense attorney said Villacorta has lived in the United States since 1986 and is a legal permanent resident. She faces deportation to her native Philippines because of the felony convictions.


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