Indians among 185 employees fired by Apple for fraud in donation scheme: Report
The employees allegedly showed false donations to charitable organisations and availed benefits of Apple’s Matching Grants Programme, to enhance their pay
Several Indians are among 185 employees who have been sacked by Apple following a probe into fraudulent activities linked to the company’s charitable Matching Grants Programme at its headquarters in Cupertino, say reports.
According to a report in India Today, six of the employees have been named by authorities in the Bay Area and warrants have been issued against them. One of the six is an Indian while many from the fired lot are said to be Indian nationals who allegedly misused Telugu charity organisations in the US to carry out the fraud.
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An NBC report too cites the district attorney’s office in Los Angeles to say that the tech giant has fired several employees from its Bay Area offices.
Apple hasn’t officially confirmed the sackings.
What is the scam?
According to reports, the sacked employees with the help of some non-profit organisations including those belonging to the Indian community, made false claims about making donations to certain organisations in a bid to exploit Apple’s Matching Grants programme. The programme is a corporate social responsibility initiative by Apple that offers to match donations made by employees to non-profit organisations.
It has been alleged that the employees donated funds to non-profit organisations and the money was later matched by Apple. As part of the plan, the non-profits returned the donation amount to the said employees along with Apple’s matching contributions.
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US lawyers say such an act is a breach of corporate policies and violation of US tax laws.
6 defrauded Apple of $152,000 in 3 years
Santa Clara County district’s office says six of the individuals have defrauded Apple of approximately $152,000 in three years by falsely claiming to have donated to two non-profit organisations – the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange (ACICE) and Hop4Kids.
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The mastermind, Siu Kei Kwan, allegedly acted as the CEO of Hop4Kids and the accountant of ACICE. As part of the scheme, employees pretended to make donations to the organisations. While the money was returned to them, Kwan kept the matching contributions made by Apple and wrote off the donations on the defendants’ tax returns.
