An Indian-origin former director at healthcare firm Optum has been sentenced to a few years in jail for his function in a scheme that defrauded the corporate of greater than $950,000.Karan Gupta, 48, based mostly in California, was sentenced on August 24 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit cash laundering,based on the US Lawyer’s Workplace for Minnesota.Gupta, who served as a senior director at Optum, was discovered responsible by a federal jury on February 17 following a six-day trial.In response to court docket paperwork, Gupta organized a no-show job for his longtime good friend, Shangraf Kaul, 45, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.Gupta employed Kaul as an information engineering supervisor on his workforce in late 2015, regardless of Kaul allegedly missing the {qualifications} for the place. Prosecutors stated Kaul carried out no work at Optum for greater than three years whereas receiving a six-figure wage.Gupta allegedly demanded that Kaul return about 60% of his wage as kickbacks. The funds have been initially made via money deposits into Gupta’s checking account earlier than the pair used a separate checking account that Gupta might entry to hide the cash transfers.The scheme was uncovered after Optum terminated Gupta in November 2019 over his involvement in an identical no-show worker fraud. The corporate investigated the matter and referred it to federal regulation enforcement.US Lawyer Daniel N. Rosen stated the fraud affected extra than simply the corporate.“Defrauding a non-public firm shouldn’t be a victimless crime,” Rosen stated, including that Gupta’s actions undermined a healthcare supplier relied upon by hundreds of thousands of People.Gupta’s co-conspirator, Kaul, pleaded responsible in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
