WKRN reported:
An employee who worked in Bridgestone’s corporate headquarters in Nashville for eight years has pleaded guilty to nearly $15 million in wire fraud.
Khatiwada created a fictitious vendor (Paymt-Tech, LLC) in July 2020, registered the company in Nevada under the name of an acquaintance and opened bank accounts in the fictitious vendor’s name, according to a release.
Khatiwada sent fraudulent invoices via email to other Bridgestone employees on a monthly basis over four years from August 2020 to April 2024. The invoices falsely claimed Bridgestone owed Paymt-Tech money for purported “service charges.” Investigators found Paymt-Tech performed no services for Bridgestone and Khatiwada was not entitled to any of money.
Bridgestone paid a total of $14,923,978.57 into Paymt-Tech accounts controlled by Khatiwada, who then transferred the fraud proceeds into financial and investment accounts under his control, where the money generated more than $6.1 million in interest, dividends and other gains, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An employee who worked in Bridgestone’s corporate headquarters in Nashville for eight years has pleaded guilty to nearly $15 million in wire fraud.
Khatiwada created a fictitious vendor (Paymt-Tech, LLC) in July 2020, registered the company in Nevada under the name of an acquaintance and opened bank accounts in the fictitious vendor’s name, according to a release.
Khatiwada sent fraudulent invoices via email to other Bridgestone employees on a monthly basis over four years from August 2020 to April 2024. The invoices falsely claimed Bridgestone owed Paymt-Tech money for purported “service charges.” Investigators found Paymt-Tech performed no services for Bridgestone and Khatiwada was not entitled to any of money.
Bridgestone paid a total of $14,923,978.57 into Paymt-Tech accounts controlled by Khatiwada, who then transferred the fraud proceeds into financial and investment accounts under his control, where the money generated more than $6.1 million in interest, dividends and other gains, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Find the original article here.
Takeway: Ensure segregation of duties or compensating controls are in place. Add a vendor process audit which is a deterrent to internal fraudsters since their actions may be exposed.
Enroll in Training Sessions: Last Thursday of Every Month is Training on Frauds and New Scam Alerts and How to Combat
Takeway: Ensure segregation of duties or compensating controls are in place. Add a vendor process audit which is a deterrent to internal fraudsters since their actions may be exposed.
Enroll in Training Sessions: Last Thursday of Every Month is Training on Frauds and New Scam Alerts and How to Combat