A group of six former Apple employees have been indicted on charges that they stole thousands of dollars from the tech giant through fraudulent charity schemes over a three-year period, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Tuesday.
Siu Kei “Alex” Kwan, 37, of Castro Valley. Yassie “Haison” Yuen, 34, of San Jose. Yat C. “Sunny” Ng, 35, of Milpitas; Wentao “Victor” Li, 38, of Hayward. Lichao Ni, 39, of Sunnyvale, and Zheng Chang, 31, of Union City, are charged with grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand larceny, perjury and tax evasion.
According to prosecutors, from July 2018 to April 2021, the employees conspired to receive approximately $152,000 from the company through a gift matching program and falsely reported $100,000 in charitable donations as tax deductions. .
Prosecutors say the scheme began when a former employee made false donations to Hops4Kids. Apple will match between 100% and 200% of donations made through our third-party platform, Benevity.
Mr. Kwan, one of the accused, used his position as chief executive officer of Hop4Kids and accountant of ACICE to repay contributions to co-conspirators, while keeping Apple’s matching funds for himself. prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Kwan, a certified public accountant, is accused of preparing fraudulent tax returns and encouraging other employees to participate in the program by offering free or discounted tax services.
Because of the amount of money involved, the group was charged under the White Collar Crime Aggravated Enhancement Act, a sentencing enhancement law that allows judges to add prison sentences for white collar crimes and non-violent crimes such as fraud and embezzlement. There is a possibility that
If convicted, the six former employees could face prison terms, be forced to repay the stolen money, and face fines and fees.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors are asking anyone with information about this case or any other cases involving the misuse of charitable matching donations to contact the police department or Investigator Justin Deoliveira at jdeoliveira@dao.sccgov.org There is.
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