By Arun Kumar
Washington, Jan 21 (IANS) A former Indian American executive of Koss Corp, accused of using her position to fraudulently obtain more than $31 million from the stereo headphone manufacturer, has been indicted on six counts of wire fraud.
In what was described as one of the largest embezzlement cases in the US, a grand jury in Milwaukee, Wisconsin returned an indictment Wednesday against Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva, former vice president of finance and secretary of the Milwaukee-based firm.
Sachdeva, 46, who held her position since 1992 allegedly used company money to pay her American Express credit card bills and buy clothing, furs, purses, shoes, jewellery, cars, china, statues and household furnishings.
She financed travel expenses for herself and others, paid for home improvements and hired people to provide personal services to her and her family, federal prosecutors alleged.
Sachdeva is accused of hiding illegal money transfers by having other Koss employees make fraudulent entries in the company's books to make them appear as legitimate business transactions.
The indictment also seeks to forfeit property Sachdeva allegedly bought with the proceeds of her fraud, should she be convicted in this case.
Among this property is her family home in Mequon, a 2007 Mercedes Benz, clothing, jewellery, art objects and household items seized from her home and two storage units she maintained in Milwaukee, as well a vacation ownership interest in Princeville Ocean Resort Village on Kauai, Hawaii.
US Attorney James L. Santelle called the case "one of the largest embezzlement cases ever brought in this district."
Each count of the indictment carries a maximum possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sachdeva, therefore, faces a total maximum penalty of up to 120 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million.
Koss Corp fired Sachdeva Dec 24 after an initial criminal complaint said she used $4.5 million of company funds to pay her American Express card balance.
The FBI arrested Sachdeva at her Mequon home and since then investigators have seized more than 22,000 items she may have bought with company money. She is free on a $50,000 personal signature bond.
While the criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Milwaukee by the US Attorney's office Dec 21 alleged Sachdeva embezzled $4.5 million, Koss Corp. said its own investigation uncovered more than $31 million in allegedly unauthorized transactions between July 1, 2004, and the end of 2009.