Former employee at KC-area Garry Gribble's Running Sports sentenced in $275,000 theft

An Olathe man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison, convicted of stealing more than $275,000 in merchandise while working at a sporting goods chain catering to runners.

Craig W. Sullivan, 41, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Sullivan stole the merchandise while working at Garry Gribble’s Running Sports, which has five locations in the Kansas City area. Sullivan oversaw merchandise arriving at the chain’s store in Overland Park and was responsible for distributing it to other locations.

In pleading guilty, Sullivan admitted that he stole Garmin GPS devices and sold them to a buyer in California through Craigslist. The buyer used PayPal to send Sullivan $275,780 in 51 separate payments.

The thefts were discovered when Garmin wrote a letter saying Gary Gribble’s was being terminated as a retailer because the GPS devices were being sold on eBay for less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Sullivan to pay back the full amount from the thefts.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Former employee at KC-area Garry Gribble's Running Sports sentenced in $275,000 theft."