SAN JOSE — Federal prosecutors have charged a former HP Inc. worker with stealing roughly $4.8 million from firm bank cards — cash she allegedly used to purchase a whole lot of designer baggage, jewellery and a Tesla, court docket information present.
Shelbee Szeto was charged with wire fraud and cash laundering, expenses that carry as much as 20 years in federal jail and a $250,000 positive. The charging information allege that she stole thousands and thousands by merely making private expenses to firm bank cards, and linking HP bank cards to her private checking account with First Republic.
When first confronted, Szeto claimed to have made thousands and thousands in reliable revenue in lower than a yr, and filed false tax returns to cowl her tracks, in keeping with the charging information.
“When a First Republic Financial institution worker questioned the supply of the fraudulent funds that Szeto stole from HP, Szeto falsely represented to the worker that the deposits have been reliable enterprise revenue from her work as a marketing consultant and that she had acquired roughly $3.6 million in reliable enterprise revenue between roughly Could 2020 and April 2021,” the charging information allege.
The scheme lasted from 2018 to final yr, when it was found and she or he misplaced her job, prosecutors allege.
Talked about within the charging information are roughly 200 luxurious objects Szeto allegedly purchased, together with crocodile purses, Chanel purses, Rolex watches, a 2020 Tesla sedan, a Louis Vuitton teddy bear, a Cartier diamond ring, and a half-dozen gold necklaces. Federal prosecutors have moved to grab the objects, alleging they’re the spoils of the fraud scheme.
It's unclear from the docket if Szeto has retained an legal professional, and her first court docket look has not but been set, information present. The fees have been filed on Friday.
“HP requires its workers, companions and suppliers to stick to the very best requirements of integrity and moral enterprise conduct,” an HP spokesperson mentioned in an announcement Monday. “We absolutely cooperated with the investigation involving a former worker and are conscious that the matter has now been resolved.”