The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported last month that the government is looking to seize some expensive property just outside of Chicago (in Deerfield, Ill.). No, this property does not belong to the infamous Rod Blagojevich, it belongs to a pair of newly accused criminals, Abby and Russell Cole.

Abby Cole is the president of "Chip Factory", which is now accused of defrauding Best Buy out of millions of dollars. The former Best Buy vendor-relations manager, Robert Bossany, has also been charged with multiple crimes including money laundering for allegedly taking kickbacks from Chip Factory before being fired.

How was it pulled off? Evidentially, Chip Factory submitted lowest bid prices through online reverse auctions run by a company identified as National Parts, Inc. Once the job was secure, Chip Factory basically charged Best Buy whatever the hell they wanted, or as the court's called it "a price significantly higher than its bid price".

So, it sounds like there is a great opportunity for some improved supply chain systems, services and/or contract managers over at Best Buy. I wonder just how many sales calls their procurement and finance teams have received over the last two weeks?

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William Dorn

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  1. I am sure the vendors who got the "brush off" from Bossany are quite happy now that they have an oportunity to compete on a level playing field.

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