Fritz van Eerd sponsored Max Verstappen via Dutch supermarket giant Jumbo.
Van Eerd is expected to appeal the sentence, which was delivered in a Groningen court on Thursday (local time).
Co-defendant Theo E was also found guilty and given a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
According to a report out of the Netherlands from AD, “the judge found it clear that Van Eerd received goods and paid for them with sponsorship invoices.”
The judge also considered the 52-year-old abused his position and enriched himself financially and with goods at the expense of Jumbo and that he also associated with criminals involved in drug offences.
Van Eerd used Jumbo sponsorship money to fund a motocross team, which in part went to Theo E, to secretly pay for equipment.
Racing Team Nederland was started by Jumbo CEO Fritz van Eerd.
Van Eerd was prominent in motorsport globally, both as a participant and sponsor.
He began racing Formula Ford and progressed into all-comers-style open-wheel racing in the 2000s before making a move into prototypes by the late 2010s.
Van Eerd competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in LMP2 between 2018 and 2021 and made five starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2017 to 2021.
He raced with the likes of ex-Formula 1 drivers Rubens Barrichello, Nyck De Vries, Giedo van der Garde, and Jan Lammers – all under the Racing Team Nederland banner.
Van Eerd’s best finish at Le Mans was second in the Pro-Am class in his final start. He was an LMP2 race winner at Fuji Speedway.
In recent years, van Eerd competed in historic F1 races all while fighting allegations of money laundering, which surfaced in 2022.
Dutch authorities raided van Eerd’s home and the Jumbo head offices that year. At his home, 176,000 EUR (210,000 AUD) was discovered in cash while a further 448,000 EUR (800,000 AUD) was found at the headquarters, all of which was unexplained.
Van Eerd was arrested and a trial began in September, 2024 regarding money laundering, false invoices and accepting bribes.
Jumbo sponsored Max Verstappen in Formula 1 until 2023.
Notably, van Eerd sponsored Max Verstappen early in his F1 career, with his Jumbo brand donning the front of the Dutchman’s helmet while at Toro Rosso.
Van Eerd. who had led Jumbo for 20 years, stepped down as Jumbo CEO amid the allegations and that relationship with Verstappen was not renewed under the company’s new CEO Ton van Veen.
Upon his arrival, Van Veen ended Jumbo’s sponsorship spending of 20 million EUR (35 million AUD).
Amid the allegations, Jumbo ceased its sponsorship of Racing Team Nederland and the team was shut down and its assets sold to Team WRT.
After being sentenced, van Eerd suggested he had been vilified by the media and the justice system.
“My working life is far from over,” he said.
“People suggest it is, but the opposite is true. Perhaps it’s a life reset. I am and will remain an entrepreneur.”
