The Rs 1.28 Crore Charity Fraud: How Six Ex-Apple Employees Exploited Gift-Matching Program

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Apple Defrauded of ₹1.28 Crore in Gift-Matching Scam by Ex-Employees, Says DA. Six former Apple employees have been charged by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for orchestrating a scheme to defraud the company. They exploited Apple’s employee gift-matching program to fraudulently obtain around ₹1.28 crore (approximately $152,000) in matching funds. The group of accused individuals includes Siu Kei (Alex) Kwan, 37, of Castro Valley; Yathei (Hayson) Yuen, 34, of San Jose; Yat C (Sunny) Ng, 35, of Milpitas; Wentao (Victor) Li, 38, of Hayward; Lichao Ni, 39, of Sunnyvale; and Zheng Chang, 31, of Union City.

The fraud took place over a span of three years, from July 1, 2018, to April 6, 2021. Led by Siu Kei, the group tricked Apple into matching donations to children's charities. However, the accused made no actual donations, and instead, manipulated donations through a third-party platform, Benevity. Once the employees made donations, Apple matched the amount, sending the funds to the charity. The accused used their connections to return the funds to themselves, thus pocketing the matching contributions.

Furthermore, the employees falsely claimed about ₹83 lakh (around $100,000) in charitable donations on their tax returns to gain illegal deductions. They now face several felony charges, including grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, perjury, and tax fraud.

Siu Kei Kwan, who was the CEO of Hop4Kids and an accountant for the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange (ACICE), used his influence with charities to refund the donations while keeping the matching funds. Kwan, a certified public accountant (CPA), also prepared fake tax returns and offered free or discounted tax services to encourage others to participate in the fraudulent scheme, cheating both Apple and the State of California.