Apple has terminated 185 employees from its headquarters in Cupertino following allegations of a sophisticated salary fraud scheme.
The investigation revealed that these employees misused the company’s charitable Matching Grants program to inflate their compensation.
This program matches employees’ donations to qualified charities with equivalent donations from Apple.
Apple Layoffs: Significant Number of Indian Nationals Involved
Reports indicate that a significant number of the terminated employees are Indian nationals.
Many of them are connected to Telugu charitable organizations in the United States.
The fraudulent activity involved employees collaborating with certain non-profit organizations to falsify donations and keep Apple’s matching contributions for themselves.
The scheme revolved around employees donating funds to non-profits, which then returned the original donations to the employees.
This allowed them to retain Apple’s matching contributions.
This not only breached corporate policies but also potentially violated US tax laws, as the false claims could amount to tax fraud.
The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office has stated that six individuals defrauded Apple of approximately $152,000 over a three-year period.
They did this by inaccurately reporting donations to two non-profits: the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange (ACICE) and Hop4Kids.
Individuals Charged in the Case and Apple’s Response
The individuals charged in the case include Siu Kei (Alex) Kwan, Yathei (Hayson) Yuen, Yat C (Sunny) Ng, Wentao (Victor) Li, Lichao Ni, and Zheng Chang, all from various locations in the Bay Area.
Siu Kei, identified as the ringleader, served as both the CEO of Hop4Kids and the accountant for ACICE.
The scheme involved employees pretending to make donations that were later returned to them.
This allowed Siu Kei to retain Apple’s matching contributions while writing off the fictitious donations on tax returns, defrauding both Apple and the state of California.
Apple has not yet provided an official statement on the matter, and the district attorney’s office is still conducting its investigation.
The media reports highlight the clever and insidious nature of the fraud, which involved employees exploiting the Matching Grants program to gain higher salaries.
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