NEWS RELEASE FROM:
Jeffrey F. Rosen, District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Christine Garcia-Sen, Deputy District Attorney
Major Fraud Unit
(408)792-2724 For release on February 24, 2011 AUDITOR CONVICTED OF MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ILLEGAL WIRE TRANSFERS FROM WATER COMPANY
On February 23, 2011, 34 year-old Abdirahman Ismail Abdi entered a no contest plea in Santa Clara County Superior Court to felony grant theft. Abdi, an auditor for California Water Service Company, stole pass-codes to two of his employer’s computers and was able to use this information to wire transfer over nine million dollars from his employer’s account into off-shore bank accounts. He then fled to Great Britain from where he was extradited for prosecution. Because his criminal acts were detected within several hours of the transfers, the banks involved were able to stop the funds from being withdrawn by the defendant. As part of a plea agreement, Abdi will be sentenced to four years and four months in state prison. The District Attorney’s office acknowledges the investigation of Detective Mikael Niehoff of the San Jose Police Department Financial Crimes Unit. ###
Jeffrey F. Rosen, District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Christine Garcia-Sen, Deputy District Attorney
Major Fraud Unit
(408)792-2724 For release on February 24, 2011 AUDITOR CONVICTED OF MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ILLEGAL WIRE TRANSFERS FROM WATER COMPANY
On February 23, 2011, 34 year-old Abdirahman Ismail Abdi entered a no contest plea in Santa Clara County Superior Court to felony grant theft. Abdi, an auditor for California Water Service Company, stole pass-codes to two of his employer’s computers and was able to use this information to wire transfer over nine million dollars from his employer’s account into off-shore bank accounts. He then fled to Great Britain from where he was extradited for prosecution. Because his criminal acts were detected within several hours of the transfers, the banks involved were able to stop the funds from being withdrawn by the defendant. As part of a plea agreement, Abdi will be sentenced to four years and four months in state prison. The District Attorney’s office acknowledges the investigation of Detective Mikael Niehoff of the San Jose Police Department Financial Crimes Unit. ###