Ex-MillerCoors VP gets 3 1⁄2 years in prison for fraud

A once-trusted former executive at MillerCoors has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for illegally tapping the beer company for more than $8.6 million during a decade-long scam uncovered roughly four years ago.

David Colletti, 60, pleaded guilty to wire fraud back in May 2016 but did not learn his fate until Thursday morning. U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso had delayed sentencing Colletti until seven other players in the scheme were dealt with.

When Colletti finally faced Alonso, the judge said Colletti seemed to “genuinely be remorseful.” However, Alonso also said Colletti once “had everything that he needed” and was well paid by the company.

“(Colletti) gave in to greed,” Alonso said.

A pair of Colletti’s former MillerCoors colleagues said Colletti once portrayed himself as “the ultimate company man.” He touted personal values like “respect” and “integrity,” and his fraud “was an amazing morale kill,” one told the judge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennie Levin said Colletti owned up to his crime by bringing it to the attention of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She said he “fell on his sword” and offered “very substantial cooperation” in the investigation. Still, she called his fraud “the ultimate betrayal” and asked the judge for a sentence of 64 months.

When it was his turn to speak, Colletti apologized for what he did, blaming his crime on a desire to keep up with the “rat race.”

“My life is changed,” Colletti said. “It’s changed forever.”

Colletti spent 31 years working his way up to a vice president job at MillerCoors. He stole the money between 2003 and 2013 by filing at least 200 phony estimates and invoices for promotional events that didn’t occur as described, or that cost less than billed.

Colletti lied about promotional events that included a food and beer pairing and a 100-player golf tournament, prosecutors alleged. He concocted promotions that supposedly took place at casinos, hotels and flea markets.