Four Georgia Mohawk employees indicted for defrauding company
ROME, Ga. (WDEF) — Four former employees of Mohawk Industries have been indicted for defrauding Mohawk.
The U.S. Department of Justice identified those four employees as:
- Jana Kanyadan (Global Chief Information Officer),
- IT employees Sivakumar Thiyagasamadram (IT),
- Madhu Shivalingegowda (IT),
- Chintan Sandesara (IT).
The DOJ said that Mohawk launched a large IT project in 2019, in which they would outsource work to IT consulting firms.
The indictment claims these four individuals then secretly operated a Georgia company called “Meta Technology Platforms,” or “Meta Tech.” It says they used their positions at Mohawk to keep Meta Tech as a vendor for Mohawk. They diverted the outsourcing IT work to Meta Tech, according to the indictment.
This happened between May and October of 2022, the DOJ explained.
They explained that Meta Tech submitted over $3 million in invoices to Mohawk. The indictment says the invoices also charged Mohawk for services that Meta Tech did not perform. Additionally, it claims Kanyadan improved inflated hourly rates from Meta Tech on Mohawk’s behalf.
Mohawk paid Meta Tech around $1.8 million based on the fraudulent invoices, the DOJ said.
They also say the invoices did not disclose these four individuals’ relationship with Meta Tech.
A federal grand jury indicted the defendants on September 12, 2023.
The indictment only contains charges, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
