Apple Manager Indicted Over Supplier Kickbacks
On Friday, federal authorities arrested a midlevel Apple global supply manager, Paul Shin Devine, for accepting kickbacks worth over $1 million from half a dozen unnamed Asian suppliers. The federal indictment named both Devine and Andrew Ang, of Singapore, on 23 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks.
According to the indictment, Devine, 37, used his position at Apple to obtain confidential information. That was shared with Ang, as well as other Apple suppliers. The information gave the suppliers an edge in contract negotiations, for which Devine and Ang were both paid.
Apple issued a statement, with spokesman Steve Dowling saying, "Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business. We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."
Devine used offshore bank accounts to receive the payments, including some in his wife's name, although he also received some payments directly while traveling in Asia. It's unclear what tipped off authorities, but the investigation was done jointly by the FBI and the IRS. Devine is scheduled for a court appearance on Monday at 1:30 PM PDT in U.S. Northern District Court in San Jose.
According to the indictment, Devine, 37, used his position at Apple to obtain confidential information. That was shared with Ang, as well as other Apple suppliers. The information gave the suppliers an edge in contract negotiations, for which Devine and Ang were both paid.
Apple issued a statement, with spokesman Steve Dowling saying, "Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business. We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."
Devine used offshore bank accounts to receive the payments, including some in his wife's name, although he also received some payments directly while traveling in Asia. It's unclear what tipped off authorities, but the investigation was done jointly by the FBI and the IRS. Devine is scheduled for a court appearance on Monday at 1:30 PM PDT in U.S. Northern District Court in San Jose.
