VIJAYAWADA/BENGALURU: Apple is said to have laid off some Employees of Indian origin for alleged misuse of the company matching grant scheme.
Under the program, for every financial contribution an employee makes to a qualified charity, Apple provides an equal amount as a matching donation.
Some US-based employees, working in conjunction with specific charities, including several related to the Indian community, allegedly created donation records and arranged for the funds to be returned to themselves.
While some media reported that 185 employees were affected, TOI could not confirm the figure. Apple had not responded to TOI’s email queries at the time of writing this article.
The Telugu Association of North America (TANA) is among those said to be under scrutiny by the FBI for misuse of matching grants from various corporations. The US District Court has reportedly issued a subpoena to TANA to testify before a grand jury. The subpoena, issued on December 12 for an appearance on December 26, was not confirmed by TANA. Sources indicated that the association received a one-month extension.
The court order requires documentation of donations received, expenses and information on all TANA representatives in various positions from 2019 to 2024. Additionally, it requires records of board meetings, subcommittee sessions, including minutes of meetings, agendas, materials, reports, presentations, resolutions and documents received.
The directive required the submission of TANA’s written policies on accounting practices, audit procedures, internal financial controls and periodic financial reporting. Documentation was requested for all donations received between 2019 and 2024, covering direct contributions and program counterpart funds.
The grand jury also demanded complete records of all TANA disbursements, specifying details of the recipient, the reason for payment, and the associated bank accounts.
While the specific details of the investigation were not contained in the subpoena, sources told TOI that this investigation is part of a joint investigation by the FBI, IRS and DOJ (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice ) that examines the potential misappropriation of corporate social responsibility (CSR). ) matching grants.
TOI contacted TANA president Niranjan Srungavarapu and general secretary and executive vice-president Naren Kodali through text messages, but they had not responded to queries at the time of writing this article.
