Former Apple Employees Used Charity Scam to Steal Over $150,000

Six former Apple employees have been charged with using a charity scheme to defraud Apple out of thousands of dollars, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney.

Apple Logo Cash Feature Blue
Apple has a program that will match or double employee donations made to charities, and the employees came up with a plan to make fake donations and collect money from Apple.

Ringleader Siu Kei Kwan had five other Apple employees make donations to the American Chinese International Cultural Exchange (ACICE) or Hop4Kids, both of which he was associated with. After Apple matched the donations, the original money was returned to the employees, and the matched money was kept. The employees also wrote off their fake charitable donations on their tax returns, earning them additional money.

Between July 1, 2018 and April 6, 2021, the employees collected approximately $152,000 from Apple's program and overreported $100,000 in charitable contributions as tax deductions. Apple detected the fraud and brought it to the attention of the district attorney's office. From Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen:

This case underscores our unwavering commitment to rigorously prosecuting individuals who defraud the tech community and misuse vital charitable programs and state resources. We commend Apple for coming forward and actively collaborating with our Office to uncover this elaborate fraud. We encourage others in the tech community to do the same. It's the holidays. Give - legally - to help the needy, not to help yourself.

The six former Apple employees who participated in the scheme have been charged with grand theft, conspiracy to commit felony grand theft, perjury, and tax fraud. Due to the amount of money involved, they face charges under California's aggravated white-collar crime enhancement.

If convicted the six are facing jail time, fines, and fees, including restitution for the money they collected.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...

Top Rated Comments

szw-mapple fan Avatar
17 weeks ago
So they ruined their life and lost their six-figure salary jobs for about $25k each.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmpage2 Avatar
17 weeks ago

probably were retail employees barely being paid livable wages, still not right but I get it.
Siu Kei Kwan the ringleader was a certified public accountant and his position at Apple was Senior Director of Industrial Design, these were not "poor impoverished" retail employees.

He's a Chinese national and Chinese nationals are not brought into the United States on work visas to work retail jobs.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Username-already-in-use Avatar
17 weeks ago
I can't fathom why people who are working in well-remunerated professions decide that the money still isn't enough for them, they want more. So they have to do something messed-up like this.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nickplee Avatar
17 weeks ago
The human fund!

Attachment Image
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
victorvictoria Avatar
17 weeks ago

I can't fathom why people who are working in well-remunerated professions decide that the money still isn't enough for them, they want more. So they have to do something messed-up like this.
When a reporter asked John D. Rockefeller how much money was enough, his reply was,"Just a little bit more." You'll find that to be the prevailing opinion among today's tech and real estate oligarchs.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
17 weeks ago

The six former Apple employees who participated in the scheme have been charged with grand theft, conspiracy to commit felony grand theft, perjury, and tax fraud. Due to the amount of money involved, they face charges under California's aggravated white-collar crime enhancement.
They got what they deserved.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)