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A former Apple employee has been charged with defrauding the tech giant of more than $10 million through bribery, equipment theft and money laundering, federal prosecutors said.
Dhirendra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years as a buyer in Apple’s global services supply chain department.
The federal criminal case unsealed Friday alleges that Prasad took advantage of his position to defraud the company in various schemes, including stealing parts and making the company pay for items and services he never received.
A court authorized the federal government to seize five real estate properties and financial accounts worth about five million dollars belonging to Prasad, and the government seeks to keep those assets as proceeds of crime, the federal prosecutor’s office in San José said in a statement. press.
Prasad is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday to answer charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. It is unclear if she has retained an attorney. A phone number listed as his was offline.
According to prosecutors, two owners of supplier companies doing business with Apple have admitted collaborating with Prasad to commit fraud and launder money.
Prasad will have to appear for the first time before the Federal District Court of San José next Thursday. Fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion carry maximum sentences of five to 20 years in prison, but sentencing regulations and judges’ discretion mean that most people convicted of fraud in federal court receive less than the maximum sentence.