Ex-Apple Employee Admits Defrauding Tech Giant of $17 Million – Tuesday, the US Attorney’s Office for Northern California announced that a former Apple employee has pled guilty to mail and wire fraud charges connected to schemes that robbed the tech giant of more than $17 million. Tuesday, Dhirendra Prasad, 52, pled guilty in federal court to counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office.
Between December 2008 to December 2018, Prasad worked at Apple in the Global Service Supply Chain department. He was responsible for purchasing Apple components and services from numerous vendors. Prasad stated in his written plea statement that he began defrauding Apple in 2011 by committing theft, receiving kickbacks, and falsifying invoices. The US Attorney’s Office stated that two co-conspirators, Robert Gary Hansen & Don M. Baker, were charged with participating in Prasad’s scams and admitted their involvement.
In one instance, Prasad stated that he had Apple motherboards supplied to CTrends in 2013. Baker had the components of the motherboards extracted, and Prasad produced Apple billing bills to pay for the returned components. Following Apple’s payment of the false bills, the parties divided the money. Prasad acknowledged committing tax evasion by routing illicit funds from Hansen to his creditors.
Baker was able to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper tax deductions, and the IRS lost more than $1.8 million as a result. Prasad faces up to twenty years in prison for mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The date of his sentence hearing is March 14, 2023. In addition, according to the US Attorney’s Office, Prasad has agreed to forfeit $5 million in assets he acquired with the proceeds of his schemes.
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