India-origin former Cisco employee arrested in US
New York: An Indian-origin former employee of Cisco Systems has been arrested and charged with a criminal complaint alleging he defrauded a technology major of more than USD 9.3 million.
Prithviraj Bhikha, 50 was charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, US Attorney David Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John Bennett have said.
The criminal complaint was unsealed Monday following Bhikha's arrest on March 1 at the San Francisco International Airport.
Bhikha made his initial appearance Monday morning in federal court before US Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero and has been released on a USD three million bond.
His next court appearance is scheduled for March 18 for arraignment. If convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment, and a fine of USD 250,000 along with restitution.
According to an affidavit filed by a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bhikha of San Francisco was employed until mid-2017 by Cisco as a director in its global supply unit in San Jose. That unit was in charge of working with suppliers and vendors to obtain parts for Cisco products.
In around 2013, Bhikha is alleged to have begun advocating within Cisco for the approval of a new project, of which he would be in charge, the goal of which was for Cisco to retain third-party vendors to negotiate savings with manufacturers on small parts used in Cisco products.
The complaint affidavit alleges that Bhikha devised, participated in, and executed a scheme to defraud Cisco by establishing overseas business entities, then directing and approving Cisco contracts to these entities pursuant to the project, and failing to disclose his ownership interest in the overseas entities.
The affidavit alleges that Cisco wired approximately USD 6.5 million to one of these entities and approximately USD 2.8 million to another.
More than USD 8.5 million was wired from bank accounts associated with these two overseas entities to US bank accounts either controlled jointly by Bhikha and his wife or by his wife alone.
The complaint affidavit also alleges that, when Cisco employees became suspicious regarding one of Bhikha's overseas entities in 2016, Bhikha and another Cisco employee worked together to create documentation to send to Cisco employees regarding that company.
The other Cisco employee is also alleged to have asked a third party to pose as the CEO of the overseas entity in a meeting with Cisco employees in July 2016.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
