Source: ABC News
Reports from San Jose, California on March 19 feature a former employee defrauding Apple Inc. The former Apple employee reportedly defrauded the tech company of an amount over $10 million. He has been charged for the defrauding which he carried out though laundering money, stealing equipment, along with taking kickbacks. Federal prosecutors involved in the case confirmed the details of it.
The culprit involved in the defrauding is Dhirendra Prasad, aged 52. He had worked at Apple Inc . for the last decade. Specifically, he was a buyer in the company’s Global Service Supply Chain department. On Friday, March 18, a federal criminal case disclosed the accusations against him. It revealed how he exploited his role in the company to defraud the tech giant in numerous schemes. These involved stealing of certain parts and tricking Apple into paying for items and services they had never essentially received in the first place.
Dhirendra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years as a buyer in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain department.#Apple #Fraudhttps://t.co/ZFhdqpMXAf
— Business Standard (@bsindia) March 20, 2022
A court has granted the federal government the permission required to seize properties and bank accounts of the culprit. The federal government now has ability to take over five of Prasad’s real estate properties, along with his financial accounts that are worth $5 million. Additionally, they government is even planning to keep these gathered assets as earnings from the crime. The US Attorney’s office revealed these details in a news release in San Jose, California.
The proceedings of the case:
On the next Thursday, March 24, Prasad scheduled to be present in court to respond to his charges. The charges include involvement in a conspiracy to commit fraud, along with laundering money tax evasion. However, it is not yet clear whether he had retained a lawyer. Among other developments, a phone number that was listed for him was disconnected following the charges on him.
Moreover, prosecutors revealed that few more people have come forward for being involved in the defrauding. Two other owners of vendor firms that were in business with Apple Inc., admitted to committing fraud. They confessed to having conspired with Prasad to money laundering and defrauding.
The former employee is set to make his first appearance in US District Court at San Jose on Thursday, March 24. Charges like tax evasion, laundering money and fraud typically carry a sentence of maximum five to twenty years each. However, guidelines surrounding sentencing, along with the discretions of judges hold altering power. This could indicate most people charged with fraud in federal court could possibly receive somewhere lower than the maximum sentence.
