Federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service said a former employee of ten years at Apple has been charged with defrauding the tech giant of more than $10 million through taking bribes, stealing equipment, and laundering money.
Dhirendra Prasad, 52, worked for 10 years from 2008 to 2018 as a buyer in the company’s global service supply chain division.
Prasad was responsible for purchasing spare parts and services from vendors. He is currently charged with five counts of tech company fraud, revenue laundering, and tax evasion.
A federal criminal case alleges that he used his position to defraud the company in several schemes, including stealing parts and causing the company to pay for items and services it did not receive.
The US Attorney’s office in San Jose said in a press release that a court had authorized the federal government to seize five real estate and financial accounts worth about $5 million from Prasad. The government seeks to retain these assets as proceeds of crime.
Prasad is due to appear in court to answer charges of involvement in a conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Prosecutors said that two of the owners of the supplier companies who dealt with Apple have admitted conspiring with Prasad to commit fraud and money laundering.
Authorities also said that both men were charged in separate federal cases and both admitted their involvement.
Prasad is due to appear for the first time in US District Court in San Jose next week to answer charges of involvement in a conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.
The maximum penalty for each act of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion is between 5 and 20 years. But judges’ judgment and discretion guidelines mean that most people convicted of fraud in federal court receive less than the maximum sentence.
Apple scams continue
Authorities in Virginia have sentenced a Chinese citizen to prison for participating in a $1 million scheme to defraud Apple.
The suspect, Tiang Liu, along with two other Chinese nationals, succeeded in defrauding the company by sending in fake iPhones and demanding a real one as a replacement.
The three Chinese citizens defrauded the company for nearly $1 million. They intend to defraud her in order to get more money.
Liu pleaded guilty in February 2021 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced to a year in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud.
Aside from prison. Liu is required to pay a total of $577,000 in compensation and $57,000 in forfeiture money. Once Liu is released, he is on probation for a year, according to the Ministry of Justice’s instructions.
The three Chinese citizens sent the defective and counterfeit iPhones to the company and demanded a replacement from 2016 to 2018.
The fake iPhones came from Hong Kong. It carried fake IMEI and serial numbers that match those found on warranty iPhones.
The conspirators sent the real iPhones to people abroad, including people in Hong Kong, in order to sell them.
The three Chinese citizens have also been able to implement the scheme for years. They got a total of $1 million from defrauding the company.
