Ex-Wal-Mart exec may get harsher sentence
BENTONVILLE, Ark. Former Wal-Mart vice chairman, Thomas Coughlin, received too light of a sentence after pleading guilty to fraud, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Court felt that the sentence of 27 months of home detention and 33 months of additional probation was too lenient for Coughlin, who plead guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of filing false tax returns.
According to the Court's opinion, Coughlin's original sentence was wrongly determined by his physical impairment and that the district court "abused its discretion" in making the decision. The opinion further stated that "the court did not state the reasons for the sentence with sufficient specificity and relied on irrelevant and discouraged grounds in reaching the sentence."
Coughlin spent 28 years at Wal-Mart Stores, eventually rising to the position of chairman. He retired from the company in January 2005.
After his retirement, Wal-Mart accused Coughlin of using company money and gift card to finance approximately $500,000 in personal expenses.