Former Wal-Mart vice-chairman Tom Coughlin has pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges, admitting that he stole more than $400,000 (€331,000) in money, gift cards and merchandise from the company.
Mr Coughlin (57) resigned from the company's board last March after he was accused of using false expenses claims and gift cards to buy personal items including snakeskin boots, an all-terrain camouflaged vehicle, hunting trips and music CDs.
Mr Coughlin initially claimed the money he stole was compensation for anti-union activity on behalf of Wal-Mart, which has long resisted the unionisation of its low-paid workforce.
In a statement after his guilty plea at an Arkansas federal court, Mr Coughlin said he accepted responsibility for "serious personal mistakes" in judgment.
"This was not an easy decision. I regret the embarrassment this matter has caused my family and friends and I thank them for their support, love and friendship," he said.
Mr Coughlin could face up to 28 years in jail and a fine of $1.35 million, but the judge ordered a pre-sentencing report that could take more than three months to prepare.
A friend of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, Mr Coughlin worked for the company for 27 years, from 1978 until last March. He was paid more than $15 million in the two years before he left the company.
Last week, a state court judge dismissed a suit by the company seeking to recover the money Mr Coughlin stole and to block him from getting retirement benefits worth millions of dollars.
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