Former '40 Under 40' PR exec scammed employers out of millions: prosecutors
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In 2018, 37-year-old Andrew Garson was named a “40 Under 40” public relations executive by PR Week Magazine which cited his "proven track record in growing business and launching successful practices in entertainment." But behind the scenes, he was allegedly defrauding the very firms where he worked out of millions of dollars.
Garson was arrested Wednesday on wire fraud charges in connection to a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud his former employers, followed by another scheme to illegally obtain New York State unemployment insurance benefits after being fired.
"Andrew Garson has likely generated his own (negative) publicity, and now faces the possibility of serious time in federal prison,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, who announced the charges Wednesday.
The indictment, which was unsealed in federal court Wednesday, alleges that between 2013-2018, Garson lied to his employers, conducting interstate wire transfers which set them back millions of dollars.
During that time period, Garson was an executive at two separate PR firms where he was responsible for working directly with clients, coordinating marketing and public relations campaigns, and managing vendor relationships, according to federal prosecutors.
Andrew Garson/LinkedIn
Garson was a vice president at Catalyst PR, a unit of WME|IMG, now known as Endeavor, before being employed as an executive vice president for MWWPR. According to federal prosecutors he was terminated from the second firm in the fall of 2018.
While at MWWPR, Garson allegedly defrauded his new employer for expenses he incurred at his previous firm. According to federal prosecutors, Garson even lied to vendors from his former firm, stating that MWWPR had agreed to cover expenses still owed to them. Meanwhile, MWWPR did not authorize such payments. Garson allegedly created fraudulent invoices claiming MWWPR owed the vendors money for work performed on MWWPR projects, amounting to more than $2.5 million.
Garson was eventually fired from MWWPR after the firm caught wind of certain aspects of the fraud scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Representatives for Endeavor declined to comment on the matter. MWWPR did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
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In addition, while at both firms, Garson was accused of using his corporate credit cards for personal expenses. In one instance, Garson used the credit card to purchase a luxury watch totaling $14,000, claiming the expense was related to event production for a client marketing event.
Following his termination from MWWPR, Garson applied for unemployment insurance program benefits from the New York State Department of Labor where he lied about the circumstances surrounding his separation from the PR firm.
Garson ended up receiving more than $5,000 in benefits which, if he truthfully conveyed the circumstances surrounding his termination, he would have been ineligible to receive.
Garson is facing two counts of wire fraud, with each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Garson could not be reached for comment.