Lucky Gal's luck runs out

Bianca de la Garza used to be a local TV news gal. But her sights were set on something far bigger and far better. So she founded a beauty company that sells stuff like pricey lip gloss and something called "illuminating serum." (I have no idea whatsoever what that is, but couldn't we all use some illuminating serum in our lives???) She has a multi-media company Bianca de la Garza Digital, that has something to do with "empowering women all over the world." And in 2015, she had a show, "Bianca Unanchored" that ran on a handful of CBS affiliates for a year. The show was produced by her company Lucky Gal Productions.

But luck may have run out for Bianca.

Seems that the Alden Shoe Company, which sells dad/prepster shoes like tassel loafers and wingtips, had a light-fingered CFO on board.  Richard Hajjar, who was with Alden for 30 years, has allegedly:

...embezzled more [a lot more] than $20 million from the company, funneling $15 million of those funds into the TV and fashion businesses of de la Garza. (Source: Boston Globe)

$15 million? Well, lucky for her. 

It wasn't just de la Garza's professional life that was benefiting from knowing Hajjar.

Hajjar bought a $1.1 million New York City co-op for de la Garza using money stolen from the company’s coffers, according to the court filing.

Hmmm. $1.1 million may sound like a lot of money, but that's not much in NYC. Sounds like a cramped dump to me. Especially for someone driving a Mercedes-Benz and sporting a $158K diamond ring. Where'd those goodies come from? Hajjar, of course, whoss purchases for his sweetie included:

... “a Mercedes-Benz, a $60,000 diamond bracelet, a $158,000 diamond ring, diamond earrings, designer handbags, designer clothing, and other luxury goods.” He also gave his personal American Express card to a personal shopper at Nieman Marcus, where de la Garza “freely purchased” hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise each month, the court filing alleges, and Hajjar paid off those credit card bills using money from Alden... and purchased other extravagant gifts, including a Mercedes-Benz, diamond jewelry, and designer handbags and clothing.

It's easy enough to "freely purchase" hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of N-M merch if you don't actually have to pay for it, right, Bianca?

The embezzlement began in 2011, right about the time that Hajjar and de la Garza became "friends." (She claims that they did not have a romantic relationship.) But talk about friends with benefits. 

The thievery was found out when Alden's president decided he wanted to transfer $10 million in retained earnings from the company's account to family trusts. Hajjar was slow to move on the request. For reasons that soon became all too obvious. 

When pressed, Hajjar called in sick. I'll bet. 

As Hajjar kept dodging, Alden's president Arthur Tarlow did a bit of sleuthing and discovered that the retained earnings cupboard was bare. And an $8 million line of credit had been drawn down. 

In a 2018 interview in Forbes, de la Garza discussed her decision to leave the anchor desk and start Lucky Gal Productions. “So, I went ahead, and I started my company... and I launched a show," she said. "I raised all the money, got all the distribution.”

You raised all that money? Good big girl!

Alden is going after both Hajjar and de la Garza, hoping to claw back some of the money from her. Alden lawyers maintain that she:

...“knew or should have known” that Hajjar did not have millions of dollars, despite receiving over $15 million in cash transfers and hundreds of thousands in gifts from him.

This reminds me of a long-ago local scandal in which a bunch of parking meter workers were nabbed for embezzling quarters. One of the amusing aspects of this was that their wives did all their shopping using bags of quarters. One wife was asked whether she thought there was something amiss, what with the bags of quarters and the fact that they lived in an upscale home in an upscale town, well beyond what a guy who empties out parking meters for the city could afford. She just shrugged and said, "I just thought he was a good provider."

de la Garza has lawyered up, of course. She's using Charles Harder, who was responsible for taking down Gawker and who, in this election cycle alone, has been paid (or not) $2.9 million by none other than Donald Trump. 

Harder has since represented Trump and his campaign in a variety of lawsuits, both real and threatened, against major news organizations — as well as against the porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with the president. (Source: Boston.com)

Harder is claiming that Alden, and a number of media outlets covering the case, have gotten some of the facts of the matter wrong. And he's saying that Hajjar and de la Garza were never in a romantic relationship. I guess Hajjar just really, really, liked her a lot.

Boston is not immune to scandals, but this is an especially interesting one. An old-timer traditional New England shoe company. A media personality in a town where media personalities are a really big deal. A ton of money. And the lawyer who represented Trump against Stormy Daniels.

de la Garza may no longer be such a lucky gal, but for those of us who like to sink our teeth into local scandals... Well, let's just say that we're feeling lucky.