Post by : Bianca
Haleem
An Indian-origin man, Karan Gupta, has been convicted in the United States for defrauding his employer of around $1.2 million by hiring his “lifelong friend” as a fake employee.
According to the US Department of Justice, Gupta was charged with fraud and money laundering conspiracy. He worked as a Senior Director of Data Analytics at Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.
A press release from the US Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota, stated that Gupta provided his friend with a fake resume, which was used to secure the job at Optum in 2015. After the hiring, Gupta became the friend’s supervisor.
Federal authorities said the friend worked at Optum for nearly four years, but did no actual work. Despite this, he received a salary starting above $100,000, which increased through yearly raises and bonuses. The friend reportedly met no one at the company, sent almost no emails, and often did not log into his Optum computer for weeks.
At the peak of his career, Gupta earned an annual salary of more than $260,000, the document said.
Investigators also revealed that Gupta’s friend gave him more than half of his salary as kickbacks. In the beginning, the friend lived in New Jersey and used to withdraw money in cash and deposit it into a New Jersey branch of Gupta’s bank so Gupta could access the funds in California.
Later, the friend opened a new checking account for Optum salary deposits and reportedly sent the debit card to Gupta. Gupta then used the card to withdraw the money from ATMs in California.
The case came to light after Gupta was terminated by Optum in 2019, linked to another fraud matter. After the termination, Optum referred the case to federal agencies.
The FBI said Gupta abused his position of trust by hiring a “ghost employee” and using the scheme to steal company money.
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