Indian-origin ex Apple employee gets 3-year prison, fined ₹157 cr for defrauding iPhone maker

An Indian-origin former Apple employee Dhirendra Prasad is convicted for 3 years jail and has to pay over ₹157 for committing fraud with iPhone maker.

Dhirendra Prasad, an Indian-origin former Apple employee, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday and ordered to pay about ₹157 crore in restitution by a US court for engaging in fraud against the tech company.

Ex-Apple employee was convicted for planning to defraud Apple.(Reuters)

The ex Apple employee was convicted for conspiring to defraud Apple, Inc., of millions of dollars and for related tax crimes, a statement from US Attorney's Office, Northern District of California said.

Prasad will serve three years in prison and must return all of his assets and money earned through cheating Apple. In addition, he must reimburse the tax money he failed to pay. He will be also be closely monitored for three years after his release from prison.

What are the charges against Dhirendra Prasad?

1. The criminal activity in this case revolved around Prasad's employment at Apple from December 2008 to December 2018. He spent the most of his time as a "buyer" in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain. Prasad's role as an Apple buyer was to manage the procedure by which Apple purchased parts to make warranty repairs on older devices.
2. According to the US Department of Justice, Prasad took advantage of his position and conspired with two different Apple vendors to defraud Apple by taking kickbacks, stealing parts, inflating invoices, and causing Apple to pay for items and services that were never delivered, resulting in a loss of more than ₹138 crore.
3. He also participated in two different criminal conspiracies with Apple vendors, evading tax on the proceeds.
4. According to the government's sentencing brief, Prasad was granted extensive freedom to make independent judgements to benefit his employer as a result of his position at Apple. “Prasad betrayed this trust and abused his power to enrich himself at the expense of his employer - all while accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary and bonuses from Apple.”
5. Prasad is claimed to have designed his criminal schemes to avoid discovery using insider information about the company's fraud-detection systems.