Ex-Rite Aid CEO Agrees to Plea Deal
The former chief executive of No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. signed a plea deal with prosecutors Thursday under which he would serve up to 10 years in prison.
Martin Grass, whose father founded Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The deal came three weeks after U.S. District Judge Sylvia Rambo rejected an eight-year sentence as too lenient.
Rambo said Grass, 50, also must agree to pay $500,000 in fines and forfeit $3 million to the United States to ensure he “does not receive unjust enrichment” as a result of the plea.
Six former Rite Aid executives have faced criminal charges for inflating profit and reaping awards through compensation schemes during the late 1990s. The company had to restate profit of $1.6 billion in July 2000.
Grass has acknowledged a failure to disclose to shareholders and to the Securities and Exchange Commission his ownership stake in a real estate firm that used Rite Aid funds to purchase land for a new headquarters.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
