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| Apple loses $10 million to former employees |
Federal prosecutors and the IRS said a 10-year-old former Apple employee has been charged with defrauding the tech giant of more than $10 million through taking bribes, stealing equipment and laundering money.
Direndra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years from 2008 to 2018 as a buyer in the company's global service supply chain practice.
Prasad is responsible for purchasing spare parts and servicing suppliers. He is currently facing five counts of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
A federal criminal case alleges that he used his position to defraud the company on a variety of schemes, including stealing parts and forcing the company to pay for items and services that were not received.
The US Attorney's Office in San Jose said in a statement that the court had authorized the federal government to seize five of Prasad's real estate and financial accounts worth about $5 million. The government is trying to keep these assets as proceeds of crime.
Prasad faces charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Prosecutors said two of the owners of the sales companies involved with Apple pleaded guilty to conspiring with Prasad to commit fraud and money laundering.
Authorities also said the two men were charged in separate federal cases and both admitted their involvement.
Prasad will appear for the first time in US District Court in San Jose next week to face charges of participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
The maximum sentence for fraud, money laundering and tax evasion is from 5 to 20 years. But the judge's ruling and discretionary guidelines mean that most people convicted of fraud in federal court receive less than the maximum sentence.
Apple scams continues
Virginia authorities have imprisoned a Chinese citizen for his involvement in a $1 million scheme to defraud Apple Inc.
Suspect Liu Tian and two Chinese nationals successfully deceived the company by sending in fake iPhones and asking for replacement.
The three Chinese defrauded the company of nearly a million dollars. They wanted to make her get more money.
Liu pleaded guilty in February 2021 in the US District Court of Columbia. He was sentenced to one year in prison for forming a criminal group.
Except for prison. Liu was ordered to pay a total of $577,000 in damages and forfeit $57,000. Liu was released on probation for a year after his release, as per instructions from the Department of Justice.
The three Chinese sent fake iPhones to the company between 2016 and 2018 and demanded a replacement.
Fake iPhone from Hong Kong. It comes with a fake IMEI and a serial number that matches the serial number of the iPhone under warranty.
The conspirators send real iPhones to sell to people abroad, including in Hong Kong.
The three Chinese also managed to implement the program over many years. They made a total of $1 million fraudulently on the company.