Former Wal-Mart Exec Faces Sentencing

Bentonville, Ark., Aformer executive of Wal-Mart stores pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe from a supplier. The former executive, Clifford Pruitt Jr., was fired by the retailer, which then turned the matter over to the authorities. “Pruitt used his position at Wal-Mart to obtain kickbacks from certain suppliers to Wal-Mart stores in Pruitt’s region,” according to a news release from William M. Cromwell, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

He reportedly accepted kickbacks totaling about $80,000 from an unspecified supplier. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Wal-Mart Stores has earned the reputation over the years as a company with an incorruptible buying department.