Feds: Fraud financed ‘lifestyle of luxury’

Former QVC executive James ‘Jamie’ Falkowski charged in kickback scheme

Wise employees know how to “stretch” their company purchases to meet expenses — looking for discounts on websites, forgoing lunch to be able to afford a nice dinner on the town, putting off elective costs to be able to meet the monthly bills.

James “Jamie” Falkowski took stretching his income to a new level. Paid up to $238,000 by QVC as director of strategic brand initiatives, he was actually able to book more than $453,000 in luxury chauffeur services over a period of years — having a car pick him up at his apartment in Philadelphia and driving him to New York City for the day.

The trouble was, Falkowski was “stretching” his income in illegal ways, according to federal authorities who last month charged the 42-year-old Buffalo, New York native with fraud and kickbacks that they said deprived the West Goshen-based home shopping network giant of an estimated $1 million over six years. Using fake expenses accounts and enlisting the help of a Los Angles-based public relations agency, Falkowski was able to maintain a high-end, luxury lifestyle far beyond what his six-figure salary would have allowed.

According to the indictment unsealed last week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia, Falkowski duped the company into paying for hundreds of thousands of dollars in spa treatments, clothing, Botox treatments and restaurant meals, authorities said. He is also accused of engaging in kickback schemes with two vendors that ultimately paid him $240,000 for arranging insider deals with the company.

Even though he was fired from the company in 2013, a court indictment states, Falkowski raked in money from QVC between 2008 and 2016, thanks to an agreement with the vendors that he be given a percentage of their royalties. He was arraigned Friday. His Baltimore, Maryland attorney said

that he intends to fight the charges.

A majority of the 35page indictment explores how Falkowski used his personal relationship with the president of The Steinberg Group, identified in the indictment as M.S.

He got QVC to hire The Steinberg Group to handle public relations and planning for the network’s numerous events to increase its celebrity status around the country. But the indictment states that he used his relationship with M.S. to pay for his expenses outside the routine, legitimate expenses that he billed the company for. The agency sent him bills for its expenses, which he in turn was able to alter prior to submission to QVC.

He laundered money through the agency, having it reimburse him for his personal expenses, and

then billing QVC for those costs by disguising them as legitimate business expenses by the agency.

In the indictment, the government detailed this “expense laundering.” It said that he used the money to “finance a lifestyle of luxury” — including high-end clothing, luxury hotel and report stays, spa treatments, restaurants, travel and other baubles.

The expenses included: Botox treatment at a New York City dermatologist; airfare to and from his hometown in Buffalo; a personal vacation to Europe in 2012; a 2011 flight from the island of Turks and Caicos to Seattle to attend a friend’s New Year’s Eve party; spa treatments at the Four Seasons Hotels in New York and Los Angles; and a resort stay for himself and two friends.

The agency would pay him directly, and then subsequently get reimbursement from QVC by issuing fake invoices written

at Falkowski’s direction.

Employees of the agency were leery of the arrangement, and sent warning signals back and forth over the years. In one email in August 2013, M.S. was warned: “We are all in this together. The bottom line is ours.”

Falkowski was also charged with setting up a scheme to take control of tens of thousands of dollars in prepaid gift cards that he used for his personal expenses. He asked various vendors for the cards, saying they were for distribution to celebrities or “talent,” according to the indictment. He used them for himself, at restaurants, clothing stores, pet stores, food markets, dry cleaning, movie theaters and gas stations.

In all, the indictment accuses Falkowski of obtaining $59,000 in prepaid gift cards.

No phone number was listed for Falkowski, and attempts to reach him on social media were unsuccessful.

Falkowski was also charged with setting up a scheme to take control of tens of thousands of dollars in prepaid gift cards that he used for his personal expenses.

Chad Curlett, of Levin & Curlett LLC, in Baltimore, Falkowski’s attorney, said in published comments that, “Jamie Falkowski has a long, successful career as a marketing professional. He was highly regarded at QVC, and we look forward to answering the charges.”