Apple Ex-Employee Charged for Defrauding the Company of $10 Million

Dhirendra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years as a buyer in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain department.

By Associated Press | Updated: 21 March 2022 17:05 IST

Apple Ex-Employee Charged for Defrauding the Company of $10 Million

A federal criminal case unsealed alleges he exploited his position to defraud Apple

Highlights

A former Apple employee has been charged with defrauding
Prasad is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday
Court has allowed federal government to seize five real estate properties

A former Apple employee has been charged with defrauding the tech giant out of more than $10 million (roughly Rs. 75 crore) by taking kickbacks, stealing equipment and laundering money, federal prosecutors said.

Dhirendra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years as a buyer in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain department. A federal criminal case unsealed Friday alleges that he exploited his position to defraud the company in several schemes, including stealing parts and causing the company to pay for items and services it never received.

A court has allowed the federal government to seize five real estate properties and financial accounts worth about $5 million (roughly Rs. 40 crore) from Prasad, and the government is seeking to keep those assets as proceeds of crime, the US Attorney's office in San Jose said in a news release.

Apple, Other US Tech Giants May Prefer Fines to Compliances: EU Antitrust Chief

Prasad is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday to answer to charges of engaging in a conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. It's unclear whether he has retained a lawyer. A phone number listed for him was disconnected.

Two owners of vendor companies that did business with Apple have admitted to conspiring with Prasad to commit fraud and launder money, prosecutors said.

Prasad is scheduled to make a first appearance in US District Court in San Jose next week on Thursday. Fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion each carry maximum sentences of five to 20 years, but sentencing guidelines and judges' discretion mean most people convicted of fraud in federal court receive less than the maximum sentence.

Apple, Other US Tech Giants May Prefer Fines to Compliances: EU Antitrust Chief

Asus India's Arnold Su joins this week's Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, to talk about how the PC maker is planning to grow its presence in the country. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.