> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ad executives lost Focus - URL: https://www.smdp.com/ad-executives-lost-focus/ - Published: 2006-12-15T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T23:22:42.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Two former heads of a local media agency and their lawyer get prison sentence for fraud* *By JESSICA ROBERTS Special to the Daily Press* LOS ANGELES — Two top executives of a Santa Monica-based advertising agency and their attorney have been sentenced to time in federal prison, ranging from 21 months to five and a half years, for their parts in a fraud scheme that cost Sears and several media companies more than $40 million. Thomas Edward Rubin, the former chief executive of Focus Media Inc., was sentenced to five and a half years, while Thomas Patrick Sullivan, the company’s former chief financial officer, received three and a half years. Former attorney Geoffrey Mousseau was sentenced to 21 months in prison. The three men were convicted by a jury in June. Rubin was found guilty on 25 felony counts and Sullivan on 27 counts, including conspiracy, fraud, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. Mousseau was convicted on six counts, which included conspiracy to commit fraud and fraudulent concealment of property from a bankruptcy. Prosecutors said there were two phases of the crimes, which were perpetrated against Sears, Roebuck & Co., Universal Studios, ABC, NBC, Warner Brothers and others. When Focus Media began to have financial trouble in 1999, they billed Sears for money that should have gone to media outlets for ads. Instead, prosecutors said, Rubin and Sullivan used the money to pay off company and personal debts. “The first phase is taking all the money,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ranee Katzenstein. “Then, the victims did a number of things to try to save themselves and save the money and prevent harm... at that point, Mousseau participated in a scheme with Sullivan and Rubin to further take more money.” Over a one-year period, Focus Media received more than $50 million from clients, but paid less than $10 million to media outlets. Of the missing $40 million, approximately $12 million went to pay Rubin’s personal liabilities. “Sears paid for the advertising and the advertising ran,” said Katzenstein. “The actual loss to Sears is the amount it had to pay a second time.The media outlets did-n’t get paid and Sears shouldered some of their loss by making a settlement with them. Universal also made a settlement.” After Sears and other clients acquired court orders to prevent Rubin and Sullivan from using money they had received from those clients, the two men violated the orders to write severance checks to themselves — $3 million for Rubin and more than $250,000 for Sullivan — with the help of Mousseau, prosecutors contend. Mousseau has since been disbarred,according to his attorney. During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Gary Feess said Rubin, who had an annual salary of up to $1 million, “killed the goose that laid the golden egg.” Mark Overland, defense attorney for Sullivan, said he thought the sentencing was harsh in terms of relative guilt. “He \[Sullivan\] didn’t profit at all,” said Overland. “Everybody realized Rubin was more culpable, but I thought the disparity between Sullivan’s sentence and Rubin’s sentence didn’t really reflect the difference in culpability.” Feess didn’t buy Overland’s claim, saying Sullivan “was involved in the whole thing.” Punishment in this case is not yet complete: Feess has said he will order the defendants to pay restitution and he has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 29 to determine the amount. The claims are approximately $40 million, but the court’s order for personal payment will be based on the defendants’ ability to pay. “We believe the restitution will be at least $14 million for Sears and Universal,” said Katzenstein. The case was investigated jointly by the United States Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation Division, which received assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 15, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)