SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) — On this Giving Tuesday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is warning organizations about schemes that may defraud the company.
The office announced Tuesday that six former Apple employees have been charged for tricking the tech company into matching donations that went right back into the suspects’ pockets.
The district attorney’s office has charged them with multiple felonies including grand theft, perjury and tax fraud.
RELATED: AI helped the feds catch $1B of fraud in 1 year
All part of an elaborate scheme that District Attorney Jeff Rosen says had many victims.
“It’s ripping off Apple, it’s ripping off the charities, it’s ripping off the government. So, it’s really a situation where everybody loses,” Rosen said. “Apple loses, the community loses, all because these six individuals wanted to make some money.”
We are not naming the suspects until their arraignment.
Rosen said one man orchestrated the crimes involving Apple’s donation match program that took place from July 2018 to April 2021.
That suspect is an executive with Hop4Kids, an organization with a mission to support children and teenagers living in poverty, and with the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange Council, another nonprofit that aims to promote a peaceful and livable world.
RELATED: Here’s how you can avoid financial scams, according to San Jose police
Here’s how you can avoid financial scams, according to San Jose police.
“The ring leader, instead of the money going to those charities, because he had status and positions in those charities, he kept the money that Apple meant to go to those charities and gave back the money that the employees put up back to the employees,” Rosen said.
The investigation found employees made donations to Hop4Kids and ACICEC through a third-party platform, which was matched by Apple by either 100 or 200%.
In total, the men are accused of stealing $152,000 in false donations and overreporting around $100,000 in charitable contributions as tax deductions.
DA Rosen said they’re investigating other companies for similar scams and this needs to serve as a warning during this giving season.
“So, we would encourage those companies to do a check, do an audit to make sure that the money they are giving to these charitable organizations really is going there,” Rosen said.
We reached out to the nonprofits and Apple but did not hear back.
The six men face more than five years in jail and restitution payments if convicted.
Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
