Maui vacations, luxury watches: Wine buyer at major California grocery chain accused of taking bribes

A wine buyer for a major California grocery chain accepted lavish vacations, luxury watches, gift cards and other bribes in exchange for carrying certain wines, according to charges filed by prosecutors.

The charges of commercial bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States were filed last week in a federal court in Oakland against Newport Beach resident Patrick Briones, who had worked as an assistant sales manager for wines at Albertsons until the spring of 2024.

Court documents describe a kickback scheme operating for years that influenced the selection of wines available in the grocery chain’s stores. Briones allegedly demanded a series of payments and gifts from vendors, concealed by falsified invoices, “in exchange for his agreement to carry, increase purchases of, or prominently display certain wines,” according to court filings.

The complaint does not name Albertsons as Briones’ employer, but instead identifies a large national grocery store chain with 300 stores in Southern California.

Albertsons confirmed its former employee’s involvement, saying in a statement that the company is “committed to operating with the highest level of ethics and integrity” and that it conducts regular training to ensure employees “fully comply with all laws and regulations.”

“We have been made aware of allegations against a former employee who abused his position for personal gain, and we are cooperating with the relevant authorities on the matter,” the company said. “The behavior in question was wholly inconsistent with our policies, and we do not, and will not, tolerate it.”

Suppliers proffered various expensive goods, including a designer bag worth $2,290, three luxury watches each worth thousands, and numerous prepaid American Express gift cards totaling tens of thousands of dollars, the complaint said.

One vendor arranged for annual trips to a resort in Maui, complete with massages, room charges, and thousands of dollars in gift cards redeemable at the resort, the complaint said.

Briones accepted regular trips to Las Vegas with room accommodations, golf reservations, dinners and casino chips for gambling, the complaint said.

And he allegedly vacationed with employees of a major distributor and suppliers at exclusive golf and other resorts in Florida, Oregon, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, among other destinations, according to court documents.

Briones worked at Safeway for a decade, according to his LinkedIn profile, before moving to Albertsons when the two companies merged in 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

Executives at wine supplier Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits who allegedly provided kickbacks to Briones pleaded guilty earlier this year to commercial bribery in a scheme worth $360,000.