Karan Gupta, 47, has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, numerous counts of wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
The verdict was announced by United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen following a six-day jury trial in Minneapolis’ US District Court.
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Gupta, a former senior director of data analytics at Optum, Inc., a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, orchestrated a scheme involving an unqualified friend whom he hired at Optum. The friend drew a salary of more than $100,000 without doing any work for over four years. Gupta received over half of his salary in kickbacks.
The scheme came to light after Gupta was fired in November 2019 for a separate fraud. Optum’s investigation revealed Gupta’s fraudulent activities amounted to more than $1.2 million, which they reported to federal authorities.
“Those who manufacture fraudulent schemes to appropriate money from legitimate businesses must be held accountable for their criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Rosen. “Kickback schemes and no-show jobs undermine legitimate businesses, and the perpetrators must suffer the consequences of their actions.”
Rick Evanchec, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office, stressed the necessity of accountability for people in positions of authority. The FBI handled the investigation, while Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew D. Forbes and Rebecca E. Kline prosecuted the case.
