Stamford Man Indicted In $28 Million Federal Financial Crime Case

STAMFORD, CT — A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a nine-count indictment this week charging a 58-year-old Stamford man with fraud and tax offenses in connection with alleged financial crimes against his former employer, candy giant Mars, Inc., Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman announced.

Paul R. Steed, 58, was arrested Thursday morning following the indictment’s return the previous day. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty, and remains in custody.

Authorities claim Steed stole more than $28 million through the schemes. Investigators have seized more than $18 million in assets and are seeking to forfeit a Greenwich home allegedly purchased with $2.3 million in stolen funds. They also allege Steed transferred approximately $2 million to Argentina, where he is a dual citizen and owns a ranch.

According to the indictment, Steed was employed remotely by Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., from 2011 to 2023 as Global Price Risk Manager for the company’s Global Cocoa Enterprise. As part of his role, he was responsible for managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program.

Prosecutors allege that in 2016, Steed created a company, MCNA LLC, designed to resemble an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America. He is accused of diverting millions of dollars from Mars by directing sugar refineries purchasing the company’s re-export credits to pay MCNA LLC, as if it were a legitimate Mars affiliate.

The indictment further alleges that Mars had an ownership stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE), a financial services company, and received quarterly dividends through that investment. In 2017, Steed allegedly instructed Computershare Limited, a firm handling stock-related services for ICE, to deposit Mars’s dividends into the MCNA LLC account. Prosecutors say this resulted in more than $700,000 in diverted payments.

In 2023, Steed is accused of using a fraudulent letter purportedly from Mars’s treasurer to authorize himself to trade ICE shares, directing Computershare to sell Mars’s holdings. The proceeds—more than $11.3 million—weredeposited into MCNA LLC’s account, prosecutors claim.

Steed also used a separate company, Ibera LLC, to submit false invoices to Mars for services that were never rendered, collecting approximately $580,000 through this scheme between 2013 and 2020, according to prosecutors.

Steed was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, each carrying a potential maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and two counts of tax evasion, which each carry a maximum five-year sentence. Prosecutors claim Steed failed to report and pay taxes on the illicit income.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman emphasized that an indictment is not evidence of guilt and that Steed is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in court.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick is prosecuting the case.