Ex-Advertising Execs Convicted in Sears Case

Two former executives of a defunct Santa Monica ad-placement company were convicted of stealing $31 million that Sears, Roebuck & Co. paid for radio and television advertising.

Thomas Edward Rubin, 58, and Thomas Patrick Sullivan, 64, were convicted in federal court in Los Angeles of mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and bankruptcy fraud, Assistant U.S. Atty. Ranee Katzenstein said. The maximum penalty for one count of mail or wire fraud is 20 years in prison, she said.

Rubin, founder and chairman of Focus Media, and Sullivan, the company’s chief financial officer, failed to pay media outlets for ads Focus placed on Sears’ behalf in 1999 and 2000 and instead used about $23 million to pay creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service, according to court papers.