Universal Music Executive Steals $1 Million over Ten Year Period, Cites Cancer Treatment as Excuse

The music industry is bringing in about $16 billion a year, at least that's what New Music Seminar honcho Tom Silverman told us when we spoke last. When we hear how tough it is for musicians to get buy on royalty payments and album sales, it makes us kind of sick to hear that executives are taking juicier cuts for themselves. The prime example is Universal Music executive Duncan Schwier, who stole $1 million over the course of ten years from the company.

The British executive used falsified invoices to send chunks of cash to companies that didn't exist...also known as his own bank account. So how did he get caught? He received a promotion during 2013, presumably not for saving the company money, but his predecessor to the role noticed that large sums were missing.

The total missing came out to be £643,697 (more than $1 million). The "good" news: Schwier claimed that he stole the money to assist in the treatment of multiple cancers he's undergone, which he has medical reports to back up. That of course doesn't make the crime any more honest but we'd still be surprised if he actually struggled with cancer for ten years and needed more than $1 million to treat them. This is shaky research but it's the best we've got: Glassdoor reports average account executive positions at Universal Music bringing in around $75,500 in yearly salary.

The actual good news: Schwier has actually repaid the stolen funds, according to Billboard. That doesn't mean he's off the hot seat however. Due to the scope and length of the criminal activity, his case will need to proceed to a higher court despite the guilty plea that was submitted.