The aggravating factor was that this was an “attempted taking of property of great monetary value or damage causing great monetary loss,” according to court documents.

Fake emails and phone calls

In court, Harkey said Grizack had been working for Pave and was trying to become a partner. In order to do that, he had to either pay a $150,000 fee or bring in $500,000 worth of new business, Harkey said. He had a deadline of July 31, 2012.

To that end, Grizack presented Pave executives with false contracts with the Coca-Cola Co. and Brown-Forman Corp., Harkey said. Brown-Forman is the maker of such liquors as Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort. The first two contracts Grizack presented were worth a combined $700,000, and they were fake, Harkey said.

And he presented more fake contracts, worth anywhere from $120,000 to $140 million, Harkey said. To cover his tracks, Grizack created fake emails and pretended to call officials from Coca-Cola and Brown-Forman, Harkey said in court. The total value of those fake contracts was $269.9 million, he said.

Those contracts landed Grizack the partnership with Pave, Harkey said. As a partner, he received a $165,000 boost in his salary, $22,500 in 401(k) contributions and a $65,000 Audi Q7 car, he said.