Tom Coughlin (Walmart executive)

Certain former Walmart employees filed lawsuits against Coughlin for their purportedly inadvertent roles in his embezzlement of Walmart funds. Former Administrative Manager Patsy Stephens deposited Walmart money into her personal bank account and then wrote checks for her immediate supervisor (Robert Hey), for Coughlin, and for cash. She claimed she thought these practices were for the benefit of the company. She was convicted on eight counts of wire fraud by a federal jury in November 2007.

Coughlin was sentenced on August 11, 2006 at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to 33 months in home detention after pleading guilty to stealing money, merchandise and gift cards from the retailer. He avoided any prison detention, but was ordered to serve five years probation, and pay a $50,000 fine and about $411,000 in restitution to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and the Internal Revenue Service. He also was sentenced to 27 months of home detention.

In March 2005, Walmart announced that Coughlin had resigned from the board of directors as a result of an internal investigation. The investigation alleged that the use of corporate-owned gift cards and personal reimbursements estimated to be in the range of $100,000 to $500,000.

Beginning in July 2005, he was the subject of a United States Department of Justice investigation, as well as a lawsuit by Walmart, and was reviewed by a federal grand jury over misuse of company gift cards. When the charges first surfaced in April 2005, Coughlin claimed the money he embezzled was being used to pay bribes to trade union officials not to organize at Walmart locations and to identify pro-union Walmart workers.

On December 6, 2004, Walmart announced that Coughlin would retire effective January 24, 2005. When Coughlin's retirement was announced, Walmart praised Coughlin for his longtime success at the corporation. Walmart CEO Lee Scott said in a company-issued press release, "Tom Coughlin has achieved one of the most successful business careers that anyone could imagine".

In January 2001, Coughlin was elected to the board of directors for ChoicePoint, a publicly traded data aggregation firm. That same year, he was elected to the Walmart board of directors. In August 2002, he was also given the title of CEO for Sam's Club USA. The following April, he became executive vice president and vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Coughlin began his career with the retailer in 1978 in the company's security division and eventually became vice president of loss prevention. He later became vice president of human resources. From January 1998 to January 1999, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the flagship Wal-Mart Stores Division. The next year, he headed the Wal-Mart Stores Division.

Coughlin grew up in Cleveland and was the son of a police detective. He attended St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, a western suburb of Cleveland, and graduated in 1967. He graduated from California State University in 1972 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science. While attending Cal State, he played football.

Thomas Martin Coughlin (June 6, 1949 – April 1, 2016) was an American businessman who served as vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and confidant of founder Sam Walton.