Six former Apple employees are facing fraud charges in a scam that targeted the tech giant's program for matching workers' charitable donations, accor

6 former Apple employees charged in charitable donations scheme

submited by

Style Pass

2025-01-06 14:30:25

Six former Apple employees are facing fraud charges in a scam that targeted the tech giant's program for matching workers' charitable donations, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

The former employees, over a three-year period, tricked the tech company into matching thousands of dollars in donations to children’s charities when they were not in fact donating a thing, the DA's Office said. The total take from the scheme was about $152,000.

Those charged are 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 charges consist of multiple felony offenses, including grand theft, conspiracy to commit felony grand theft, perjury and tax fraud, the DA said.

From July 1, 2018, until April 6, 2021, the defendants defrauded Apple’s Matching Gifts Program when they pretended to make donations to the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange (ACICE) or Hop4Kids, the DA said. The workers' donations were returned to them, and Kwan, the CEO of Hop4Kids and accountant for ACICE, kept Apple’s matching funds.