IT Exec Sets Up Fake Biz, Uses It To Bill His Bosses $6M For Phantom Gear
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
A now-former senior IT exec has admitted conning his employer out of $6m - by setting up a fake tech services biz that billed his bosses for bogus services.
US prosecutors announced on Friday that Hicham Kabbaj, 48, of Floral Park, Long Island, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in the clink, though in all likelihood will get much less, and will be sentenced later this year by presiding federal district Judge Richard Berman.
"Today, Mr Kabbaj pled guilty to a serious felony because he chose to misuse his position of trust as a corporate executive to steal company funds for his own personal gain," said Jonathan Larson, the Internal Revenue Service special agent in charge of the case.
According to Uncle Sam's court filings [PDF], between August 2015 and May 2019, while in various roles that allowed him to handle IT purchasing for his unnamed employer, described as a "global internet company" based in Manhattan, Kabbaj funneled millions into his own pockets through phony tech purchases.
For what it's worth, between May 2015 and August 2019, a certain Hicham Kabbaj worked for Rakuten Marketing, a global online marketing outfit, in New York, in various IT-related roles including senior veep of technical operations and engineering, according to LinkedIn. Rakuten did not respond to a request to comment.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.