A San Jose man was sentenced to serve 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to mail fraud and embezzlement. The man was also ordered to pay $2,618,000 in restitution as a part of his plea agreement.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the 41-year-old man embezzled money from the medical device company for which he worked. The man reportedly worked at the company from March 2013 to January 2018. During his employment, he submitted false invoices that were payable to six different entities that were under his control.
The man admitted that he submitted fake expense reports and invoices to the Emeryville-based company’s finance department from July 2013 to December 2017, causing a loss of a half-million dollars. He also submitted false invoices for the entities that he had created for services and goods that were never provided. The man was indicted in April 2018 and entered a guilty plea in November to one count of mail fraud. Five remaining counts were dismissed as a part of his plea agreement.
People who learn that they are being investigated for these types of white-collar crimes may want to seek help from an experienced criminal defense lawyer as early as possible. In some cases, lawyers are able to negotiate agreements with the prosecution to drop the charges if the defendant agrees to pay back the party that was the victim of the fraud. If that isn’t possible, the entering of a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced penalty might be an advisable option.
Source: India New England News, “Indian-origin man gets 33-month jail in California for over $2 million fraud”, March 4, 2019