Wife, son of ex-Le-Nature’s CEO cite Bible in appeal
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man and woman convicted for their roles in an $800 million soft-drink company accounting fraud case say in an appeal that their religious beliefs commanded them to follow the family’s patriarch.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that G. Jesse Podlucky filed the appeal from federal prison in Yankton, South Dakota.
Podlucky and his mother, Karla, were convicted of helping Gregory Podlucky hide and auction off $2.9 million in diamonds bought with money stolen from investors of Le-Nature’s.
The Podluckys say that their religious beliefs shielded them from learning or believing Gregory Podlucky cooked the defunct company’s books to obtain financing and equipment leases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cessar called their motion frivolous and noted many of the arguments have been rejected by a federal judge and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.