A Stamford man who stole more than $28 million from his former employer, Mars Inc., over a 12-year period was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
Paul R. Steed, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport and ordered to pay $28.4 million in restitution to Mars and $10.3 million in back taxes to the IRS. He will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
Between 2011 and 2023, Steed worked remotely from his Stamford home for Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of candymaker Mars Inc., ultimately serving as global price risk manager for the company’s Global Cocoa Enterprise, authorities said.
Steed created a shell company in 2016 called MCNA LLC, designed to mimic Mars Chocolate North America, a legitimate Mars entity. He diverted more than $15 million in company assets to a bank account he set up in MCNA’s name, primarily by directing sugar refineries purchasing Mars’ re-export credits through a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to pay the fraudulent entity.
In 2017, Steed diverted more than $700,000 in dividend payments from Mars’ ownership stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. into the MCNA account. Six years later, he used a fraudulent letter, falsely attributed to the Mars treasurer, to authorize the sale of all of the company’s Intercontinental Exchange Inc. shares, depositing a check for more than $11.3 million into the same account.
Steed also operated another company, Ibera LLC, which he used from 2013 through 2020 to invoice Mars for services the company never received, collecting more than $700,000.
He failed to report or pay taxes on the stolen income on his federal tax returns from 2014 through 2023, authorities said.
The government has seized more than $18 million from bank accounts controlled by Steed, and is seeking to forfeit or liquidate a Greenwich home he purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds. Steed also sent about $2 million to Argentina, where he holds dual citizenship and owns a family ranch.
Steed was arrested on March 26, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Sept. 11, 2025, to two counts of wire fraud. He was released on $5 million bond and must report to prison on March 5.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the USDA Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick prosecuted the case.
