Former Cisco exec jailed for fraud, dodging taxes
(2021/08/31)
- Reference: 1630395788
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/08/31/former_cisco_exec_jailed/
- Source link:
A former Cisco executive was this month sentenced to 36 months in a US prison, and ordered to pay more than $3.6m in fines, for wire fraud and tax violations.
Former senior director of Cisco's global supplier management operation, Prithviraj "Roger" Bhikha, [1]admitted in November last year, as he pleaded guilty, that he took kickbacks to the tune of $1.15m while sourcing suppliers on Cisco's behalf.
A supplier that hoped to do business with Cisco paid money to a Hong Kong company Bhikha created, called Lucena. Lucena was later transferred under his wife's name. Bhikha then hired Lucena to provide Cisco with price negotiation services.
[2]
Cisco had no idea what was going on.
[3]
[4]
Lucena and an affiliated Singapore-based company pulled in a cool $10.06m from Cisco between August 2014 and April 2017. Bhikha even concealed his efforts to distance himself from Lucena by having a fake CEO attend a 2016 Cisco meeting and present fictional data in order to ensure continued business.
Bhikha and his wife extracted $9m from Lucena's foreign accounts and neglected to include the income on his taxes, resulting in an underpayment of $2.5m.
[5]
The business arrangement fell apart in 2017 when Cisco cottoned on to its employee's illicit dealings.
[6]Tech scammer who fooled Cisco, Microsoft and Lenovo out of millions jailed for more than seven years
[7]Rogue ex-Cisco employee who crippled WebEx conferences and cost Cisco millions gets two years in US prison
[8]I was screwed over by Cisco managers who enforced India's caste hierarchy on me in US HQ, claims engineer
Interestingly, a [9]court document [PDF] signed by Judge Charles Breyer asserted that Bhikha's endeavors did benefit Cisco to some extent.
"Bhikha did not simply use his companies to steal money from Cisco without providing anything in return. Consistent with their contractual obligations, his companies negotiated lower prices on behalf of Cisco," said the filing, adding "Even assuming that the $69 million figure is inflated, there appears to be no dispute that Bhikha's secretly-owned companies saved Cisco tens of millions of dollars."
Of the more than $3.6m Bhikha must cough up, $1.15m will go to Cisco, while the remainder will go to the IRS. Bhika and his wife will also forfeit two San Francisco properties.
The three-year jail sentence was handed down on August 25, 2021. Bhikha remains out on bail until October 28.
[10]
This is not Cisco's first brush with insider fraudsters. In 2003, exec Robert Gordon [11]received a five and a half year sentence for fraud and insider dealing after he diverted $50 million of Cisco-owned stock through overseas accounts. Gordon's criminal case was much more dramatic than Bhikha's, as it culminated in an unsuccessful mental health plea, some time spent on the run and an attempted suicide, and a [12]failed 2005 appeal to reduce financial penalties. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-cisco-executive-sentenced-36-months-prison-fraud-scheme-and-filing-false-tax
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/04/tech_scammer_doj/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/12/in_brief_security/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/01/cisco_caste_discrimination/
[9] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cr-00115/pdf/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cr-00115-0.pdf
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2003/01/07/disgraced_cisco_exec_gets_five/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2005/01/04/cisco_swindler_appeal_fails/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Former senior director of Cisco's global supplier management operation, Prithviraj "Roger" Bhikha, [1]admitted in November last year, as he pleaded guilty, that he took kickbacks to the tune of $1.15m while sourcing suppliers on Cisco's behalf.
A supplier that hoped to do business with Cisco paid money to a Hong Kong company Bhikha created, called Lucena. Lucena was later transferred under his wife's name. Bhikha then hired Lucena to provide Cisco with price negotiation services.
[2]
Cisco had no idea what was going on.
[3]
[4]
Lucena and an affiliated Singapore-based company pulled in a cool $10.06m from Cisco between August 2014 and April 2017. Bhikha even concealed his efforts to distance himself from Lucena by having a fake CEO attend a 2016 Cisco meeting and present fictional data in order to ensure continued business.
Bhikha and his wife extracted $9m from Lucena's foreign accounts and neglected to include the income on his taxes, resulting in an underpayment of $2.5m.
[5]
The business arrangement fell apart in 2017 when Cisco cottoned on to its employee's illicit dealings.
[6]Tech scammer who fooled Cisco, Microsoft and Lenovo out of millions jailed for more than seven years
[7]Rogue ex-Cisco employee who crippled WebEx conferences and cost Cisco millions gets two years in US prison
[8]I was screwed over by Cisco managers who enforced India's caste hierarchy on me in US HQ, claims engineer
Interestingly, a [9]court document [PDF] signed by Judge Charles Breyer asserted that Bhikha's endeavors did benefit Cisco to some extent.
"Bhikha did not simply use his companies to steal money from Cisco without providing anything in return. Consistent with their contractual obligations, his companies negotiated lower prices on behalf of Cisco," said the filing, adding "Even assuming that the $69 million figure is inflated, there appears to be no dispute that Bhikha's secretly-owned companies saved Cisco tens of millions of dollars."
Of the more than $3.6m Bhikha must cough up, $1.15m will go to Cisco, while the remainder will go to the IRS. Bhika and his wife will also forfeit two San Francisco properties.
The three-year jail sentence was handed down on August 25, 2021. Bhikha remains out on bail until October 28.
[10]
This is not Cisco's first brush with insider fraudsters. In 2003, exec Robert Gordon [11]received a five and a half year sentence for fraud and insider dealing after he diverted $50 million of Cisco-owned stock through overseas accounts. Gordon's criminal case was much more dramatic than Bhikha's, as it culminated in an unsuccessful mental health plea, some time spent on the run and an attempted suicide, and a [12]failed 2005 appeal to reduce financial penalties. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-cisco-executive-sentenced-36-months-prison-fraud-scheme-and-filing-false-tax
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/04/tech_scammer_doj/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/12/in_brief_security/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/01/cisco_caste_discrimination/
[9] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cr-00115/pdf/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cr-00115-0.pdf
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YS395qNPwYYeeG8pI@OkngAAAII&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2003/01/07/disgraced_cisco_exec_gets_five/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2005/01/04/cisco_swindler_appeal_fails/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: $10 million in two and a half years
A Non e-mouse
Greed.
Re: $10 million in two and a half years
The First Dave
Sounds like he also made the "Al Capone mistake" - should have paid his taxes!
Will he go to prison and – if so – will they find the backdoor?
_LC_
Crooks at Cisco? I'm shocked!
YetAnotherJoeBlow
If a man is dishonest at the job, so he is at home.
I doubt that he was at home much
_LC_
Those guys usually have a selection of prostitutes.
$10 million in two and a half years
Too fast, too greedy. Should have played it cool, a shady deal a year, no more.
Especially since, in his position, I doubt he had financial problems at the end of the month.
But no, this guy obviously couldn't keep from raking it in, and he got caught.
Goes to show that fraudsters aren't as smart as they think they are.