Re: S'poreans Should Stop COMPLAINING About PRC Service Staff Cannot Speak ENGLISH Ok
is she ah neh?
her salary 170000 US dollar not enough
Koss executive accused of embezzling more than $4.5 million
By Rick Romell of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 21, 2009
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Questionable Spending
Sachdeva is accused of improperly using company funds on shopping sprees that included:
* $1.3 million in clothing from a single store in Mequon.
* $130,000 in jewelry
* $600,000 from a bridal store in Milwaukee
A longtime financial executive with Koss Corp. was accused Monday of embezzling more than $4.5 million from the Milwaukee company and using the money to pay for shopping sprees at upscale stores.
Sujata Sachdeva, vice president of finance at Koss since 1992 and an active participant in Milwaukee's civic scene, was charged with wire fraud, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Jacobs, prosecutor in the case. She appeared in federal court late Monday and was released on an unsecured bond, Jacobs said.
Over the past two years, Sachdeva is accused of using embezzled money to pay credit card charges for pricey jewelry, high-end women's clothing and expensive household items, Jacobs said, citing the criminal complaint.
Authorities say her bills paid with Koss funds included $1.3 million in clothing from a single store in Mequon, $130,000 in jewelry and $600,000 from a bridal store in Milwaukee, Jacobs said.
FBI agents arrested Sachdeva on Monday, and Jacobs said she allowed agents to search her Mequon home. There and at her office, Jacobs said, agents found a number of clothing items, some with price tags still on them. Some of the items cost $2,000 apiece, he said.
Earlier Monday, the Nasdaq stock exchange halted trading in Koss shares at the company's request. Shares last traded Monday at $5.51, down from an adjusted 52-week high of $7.89 in mid-April. The stock recently split.
The maker of stereo headphones said in a brief statement that the request to halt trading followed its discovery of "unauthorized transactions" and its suspension of Sachdeva without pay.
The firm said its board has appointed a special committee of independent directors to internally investigate the transactions and determine their effect, if any, on Koss' financial statements.
As secretary of the corporation, Sachdeva signs those statements, as does Michael J. Koss, whose titles include chief executive officer and chief financial officer.
The amount of money that Sachdeva is accused of stealing over two years is huge for a firm the size of Koss Corp.
In the fiscal year ended June 30, the company reported making $2 million on $38.2 million in sales. The firm reported a $566,000 profit in its most recent quarter, ended Sept. 30.
Sachdeva is on the board of trustees of Cardinal Stritch University and the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, and formerly was on the board of the Skylight Opera Theatre.
She has appeared several times in recent years at charity events for various local organizations.
Property records indicate she has shared ownership in the Mequon home with Ramesh C. Sachdeva, a pediatrician and a vice president at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
Ramesh Sachdeva also is a Marquette University Law School graduate and an adjunct professor there.
Sujata Sachdeva, who is in her mid-40s, was paid $173,734 by Koss Corp. in total compensation in fiscal 2009 and $206,462 in fiscal 2008, company filings show.
She could not be reached for comment Monday.
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