Ex-Employee Bilks Mars of More Than $28 Million Over 12 Years

A former risk manager for Mars Wrigley pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to defrauding his former company of more than $28 million by diverting payments into a dummy corporation he created.

Paul Steed pleaded guilty to fraud and tax offenses stemming from his commission of multiple frauds against his former employer Mars Inc. He worked remotely from his home in Stamford, Ct., between approximately 2011 and 2023, serving in several positions at the company, the last as Global Price Risk Manager for Mars Wrigley’s Global Cocoa Enterprise.

As part of that job, Steed was responsible for managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the USDA’s Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program. “In approximately 2016, Steed created a company, MCNA LLC, to mimic an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America,” read a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for Connecticut.

“He then diverted more than $15 million in Mars assets to a bank account he set up in MCNA’s name by directing sugar refineries purchasing Mars’ re-export credits, obtained through the USDA program, to pay MCNA LLC as if it were a legitimate Mars entity.”

Steed also managed to have dividends from a financial services company, which Mars had an ownership stake in, paid into MCNA LLC, and ultimately managed to sell all of Mars’ shares in that financial company, netting him more than $11.3 million.

In addition, from 2013 through 2020, Steed used a company he owned called Ibera LLC to invoice Mars for services Mars did not receive. Mars paid Ibera LLC more than $700,000 through this scheme, the district attorney said. Steed also failed to report and pay taxes on his stolen income.

Steed pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and one count of tax evasion, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, according to the district attorney.

Steed has agreed to pay restitution of $28,410,489 to Mars, and the government has calculated that he owes the IRS an additional $10,310,680 in back taxes.

The government has seized, and Steed has agreed to forfeit, more than $18 million from bank accounts he controls, and the government is seeking to forfeit or liquidate for restitution a Greenwich home that Steed is alleged to have purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds. It is alleged that another $2 million was sent by Steed to Argentina, where he is a dual citizen, has family ties, and owns a ranch.

Steed was arrested on March 26, 2025. He is released on a $5 million bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 9.