Prosecutors said that a former employee of the American company “Apple” is accused of defrauding it of more than 10 million dollars
Direndra Prasad, 52, faces charges of taking bribes, equipment theft and money laundering while working for the technology company, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
Prasad, who worked for 10 years at Apple, was accused of being involved in a conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Prosecutors said two of the vendors’ owners who dealt with Apple, and directly with Prasad, have admitted conspiring with him in his crimes.
Prasad is due to appear in US District Court in San Jose, next Thursday.
In a press release, the US Attorney’s Office in San Jose said that a court has allowed the US federal government to seize five real estate properties and financial accounts belonging to Direndra Prasad, worth about $5 million, according to a news report.
The lawsuit states that Prasad “willfully conspired to devise a fraud scheme in connection with a material matter, and to obtain money and property by material false and fraudulent allegations, promises and promises, and by omission and concealment of material facts”.
The maximum penalty for each count of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion is from 5 to 20 years.
It is noteworthy that last year, “Apple” sued a former employee of the company over accusations of stealing trade secrets of the company, and leaking them to a journalist in order to obtain positive press coverage of his startup.