After being convicted of defrauding Apple and committing related tax crimes, Dhirendra Prasad, a former Apple employee, has been sentenced to three years in jail and has been ordered to pay more than $19 million.
In March 2022, he was accused of using mail and wire fraud schemes to steal approximately $17 million from the iPhone manufacturer.
On November 2, 2022, Dhirendra Prasad, aged 55 and residing in Mountain House, San Joaquin County, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, as well as one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that the remaining charges were dropped during sentencing.
Dhirendra Prasad’s criminal activities revolved around his tenure as an Apple employee, spanning from December 2008 to December 2018.
During this period, he held the position of a “buyer” in Apple’s Global Service Supply Chain. As an Apple buyer, Dhirendra Prasad was responsible for managing the procurement of parts required for warranty repairs on older devices.
As per the Justice Department, Dhirendra Prasad misused his authority and colluded with two Apple vendors to deceive the company by accepting bribes, stealing parts, exaggerating invoices, and causing Apple to pay for items and services that were never received. This resulted in a loss of over $17,000,000 to the tech giant.
Apart from conspiring with Apple vendors, Dhirendra Prasad also admitted to evading taxes on the profits generated from his illicit activities.
As an Apple employee, Dhirendra Prasad was granted significant autonomy to make decisions that would benefit his employer.
Dhirendra Prasad misused his authority to enrich himself, causing losses to his employer, while simultaneously receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of salary and bonuses from Apple.
The DOJ stated that Dhirendra Prasad utilized his knowledge of the company’s fraud-detection methods to tailor his illegal activities in a manner that would evade detection.
