Dhrendra Prasad, formerly employed as a buyer for Apple’s global service supply chain, has been sentenced to three years in prison as of November 2022. While employed between the years of 2008 to 2018, Mr. Prasad admitted in his plea agreement that he defrauded his employer since 2011 by diverting funds to himself totaling $17 million. Two owners of the involved vendor companies were also charged in separate cases as part of the theft.
Mr. Prasad admitted in his plea agreement that by: accepting
kickbacks, stealing parts, inflating invoices, and charging Apple for goods not
delivered, Mr. Prasad managed to divert the $17 million in defrauded funds to
himself. An additional wrinkle to the case saw the United States Department of
Justice being quoted as saying that Mr. Prasad used his company position, as
well as insider information on Apple’s fraud detection techniques in order to
mask the fraud and avoid taxes on the diverted funds. This scheme allowed Mr.
Prasad to take the millions in funds in addition to the normal salary and
bonuses the company paid.
The case closed with Mr. Prasad pleading guilty to one count
of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy
to defraud the United States. In addition to his three-year prison sentence, Mr.
Prasad was ordered $19,270,683 in restitutions. $17,398,104 in restitution to
Apple and $1,872,579 to the IRS for the tax. He has also been ordered to
forfeit over $5.4 million worth of assets that the government has already
seized and pay an additional $8.1 million in cash. This case is an example that
one bad apple really can spoil the bunch.
Weatherbed, J. (2023, April 28). Former Apple employee sentenced for stealing $17 million from company. The Verge.
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