It ain't easy.
From "Apple lost $10 million to long-time worker who took kickbacks, stole parts, diverted cash, feds allege" posted Friday in the San Jose Mercury News:
A man who worked at Apple for a decade defrauded the company out of more than $10 million by taking kickbacks, stealing equipment and diverting money, federal authorities alleged Friday.
Dhirendra Prasad, 52, is charged with five crimes related to allegedly defrauding the Cupertino technology giant, laundering the proceeds and evading taxes, prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service said.
The San Joaquin County man worked for Apple from 2008 to 2018, mostly as a buyer in the firm’s “Global Service Supply Chain,” authorities said. Responsible for purchasing parts and services from vendors, Prasad allegedly “exploited his position by engaging in multiple different schemes to defraud Apple, including taking kickbacks, stealing parts, and causing Apple to pay for items and services it never received,” federal authorities claimed in a press release...
A court has allowed the federal government to seize $5 million in money and property from Prasad, and the government is seeking to keep those assets as proceeds of crime, the press release said.
My take: The press release didn't offer details, but a quick search turned up this U.S. District Court forfeiture filed last September against properties apparently owned by the same Dhirendra Prasad:
The real property located at 577 S. Tradition Street, Mountain House, CA; APN 254-160-340, The real property located at 135 E Kavanagh Avenue, Tracy, CA; APN 214-400-370, The real property located at 332 R Street, Merced, CA; 032-261-018; APN: 032-261-018, The real property located at 4452 Cotton Court, Apartments 1-12, Stockton, CA; APN:104-260-060, The real property located at 1185 Palomar Drive, Tracy, CA; APN 238-110-080, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 1916-6482 held in the name of The PRASAD-Smith Living Trust DTD, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 1191-9368 held in the name of The PRASAD-Smith Living Trust DTD, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 3452-2348 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD 401K Plan & Trust DTD, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 4658-1251 held in the name of The PRASAD-Smith Living Trust DTD, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 8018-0595 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD Pension Plan, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 7911-3030 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD Defined Benefit Pension Plan, All funds maintained at LPL Financial in account 7912-2543 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD 401K Plan & Trust DTD FBO Sherry L. Smith, All funds maintained at Jackson National Life Insurance Company in annuity number 1022081175 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD Pension Plan, All funds maintained at Jackson National Life Insurance Company in annuity account number 1020906533 held in the name of The PRASAD-Smith Living Trust DTD, All funds maintained at American Funds College America VA 529 account number 04000677405 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD for the benefit of Rachel S. Prasad, All funds maintained at American Funds College America VA 529 account number 04000676880 held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD for the benefit of Aidan C. Prasad and All funds maintained at Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company in IRA account number R079657-ZS held in the name of Dhirendra PRASAD for the benefit of Sherry Smith, Rachel Prasad, and Aidan Pr.
It is rare indeed that such crimes long can go undetected. And yet, it is the personal greed and thrill-of-the-moment that consumes the individual to continue, resulting inevitably in their capture. I suspect if they settled for much less on a one time basis, then they may escape attention. But they can’t be satiated, and therein lies their problem; and their capture.
If he had held on to his employee stock purchase plus matching program from 2008, he’d have $M’s in legit earnings.
To be at a high enough level to commit these scams, he likely had a few more $M’s in stock options.
It is none of the negative stuff that you have implied.
Apple got “lucky” and he was caught.