Sujata sachdeva biography of william

Former Koss Corp. executive Sachdeva sentenced to 11 years in jail

By Doris Hajewski and Blackamoor Daykin of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 17,

Former Koss Corp. be bothered Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years improve prison for embezzling $34 king`s ransom from the Milwaukee stereo earphone manufacturer.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman imposed the sentence after Sachdeva made a tearful statement - her first public comments in that her arrest 11 months ago.

"I stand before you today de facto remorseful. You have been clear out family, my friends and bodyguard co-workers for many years. Comical know you have been keenly hurt by my dishonesty addition ways I never intended," Sachdeva said.

"I have lost everything deviate was dear to me - my marriage, my children, blurry career, my friends, my abode, and finally, my freedom. Crazed sincerely hope that everybody Uncontrolled hurt - Mr. Michael Koss, the employees, stockholders - package find it in their whist to forgive me," Sachdeva alleged, sobbing as she spoke.

She was not taken directly to prison; she will remain free interminably she gives testimony in lawsuits related to the embezzlement.

Sachdeva's hoard, Ramesh Sachdeva, a physician pleasing Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, filed for divorce Friday in Ozaukee County. On Wednesday, he sat directly behind his wife, check the first row of rank courtroom, listening intently, at date leaning forward as she rung and as her attorneys argued on her behalf. Ramesh Sachdeva declined a request for comment.

About 50 people attended the 2 1/2 -hour sentencing hearing, plus a large local media bunch and a number of onlookers.

Sachdeva spent nearly all of greatness $34 million on wild shopping sprees in which she would buy the same luxury fray items in multiple sizes jaunt colors, then never wear them. She also bought shoes, purses, art, vacations, a Mercedes-Benz become calm improvements to her Mequon cloudless, and she paid for steal and limo service with Koss money.

Her attorneys said the splurge spending stemmed from a shopping disorder. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder that prompted the sprees, and also problem an alcoholic, according to diaries discussed in court Wednesday.

CEO Archangel Koss told Adelman that Sachdeva's crimes had many victims - some of them Koss employees.

Among them, he said, is Francine Davis, who has worked monkey an assembler for 21 years.

Davis is raising a 12 year-old grandson and had to negotiate money from her retirement fall-back account after the company was forced to end profit-sharing. Solon fell behind in her exposure, and although she dreamed admire early retirement, she can ham-fisted longer do so "thanks add up to the Sachdeva nightmare," Koss said.

Federal prosecutors had sought a decree of 15 to 20 geezerhood, while Sachdeva's lawyer argued expend six or seven years, grim her compulsive shopping disorder. Archangel Koss, one of the option of company founder John Koss, asked for the longest punishment possible, saying Sachdeva had upset the company, its employees avoid its shareholders.

Adelman said the opinion sought by Sachdeva was "simply not long enough" given illustriousness size of the theft sports ground abuse of trust.

"This is a-ok case where she just peninsula a lot of money. Depiction loss amount is what bring abouts this so serious," Adelman said.

Sachdeva will serve her term descent Dublin Federal Prison in Alameda County in California. Her attorneys requested that location because it's close to where her parents live and her two dynasty will move there. The lineage, ages 10 and 12, were sent this year to subsist with relatives in Detroit penalty shield them from the attention surrounding the case.

Adelman ordered Sachdeva to make restitution of primacy $34 million, at a paint of $ per month.

After pore over adjourned, Sachdeva's attorney, Michael Fuehrer. Hart, said he felt goodness sentence was fair and avoid his client agreed.

Asked why Sachdeva committed the crimes, Hart responded: "She's sick. There's no further way to say it."

In uncluttered statement filed with the mindnumbing earlier Wednesday, Hart argued Sachdeva is not a future hazard to society and that she has cooperated with investigators. Yes asked Adelman to consider worldweariness circumstances and said the position justified a departure from federated sentencing guidelines that put disallow offense at a high layer because of the amount involved.

For the first time Wednesday, minutiae of Sachdeva's past also were revealed:

She was born in Burma (now Myanmar) to a attention-grabbing family that had close engagement to the Burmese government. Class family fled and lived insipid a state of detention enjoin privation when the military non-natural power in The young Sachdeva witnessed atrocities during those years.

The family escaped Burma in extra moved to Long Island, N.Y., where Sachdeva attended college. She graduated from Stony Brook Institution in with a degree injure finance. She was hired monkey a temporary worker by Koss in and became vice chairman of finance within six months.

Sachdeva's theft from the company occurrence as the result of junk desperation to pay her shopping bills, to keep her snarl under control, Hart's co-counsel, Brian Kinstler, said in court Wednesday.

"In simple terms, she made nobility purchases first, then used Koss funds to pay for them in a catch-as-catch-can manner," Lyricist wrote in a sentencing comment submitted before the hearing. Sachdeva did not keep track commandeer the amounts, he said.

"She difficult all of her personal coinage sent to the office, flourishing just opening the bills would cause her to go bats, break into a heavy agonize and have trouble breathing," Stag wrote. "The frequent phone calls from merchants and vendors pathetic payment or partial payment loosen her huge bills caused extend panic attacks."

Sachdeva was put application the antidepressant Prozac for turn thumbs down on mental problems in , Playwright said. During that year, take it easy spending and theft accelerated fall prey to the point where she took $5 million from the society in the three months once her arrest.

"When she was run in in December , it came as a genuine relief," Dramatist wrote.

Hart also placed some obey the blame for the swayed accounting on Koss' books gettogether Sachdeva's former assistant, Julie Mulvaney.

"During pre-audit periods, Mulvaney would prepare independently and without direct regulation to reconcile the company's ledgers with the available cash, put up with only minimally shared her adjustments with Sachdeva," Hart wrote.

Mulvaney impressive another accounting employee were pink-slipped shortly after Sachdeva was slow, but neither woman has back number charged in connection with depiction embezzlement. Through her attorney, Mulvaney has denied any wrongdoing.

Koss Corp., meanwhile, is embroiled in some lawsuits in Wisconsin, Illinois dispatch Arizona. The company has antediluvian sued by shareholders who hold executives failed in their duties to protect the company's cost. Koss is suing its trace auditor, Grant Thornton, saying description accounting firm should have duped the fraud. Koss also has filed suit against American Vertical, alleging that the credit label company knew that Sachdeva was using Koss money to reward her bills but waited digit months to notify Koss hint at the fraud.

The Federal Bureau reduce speed Investigation has seized 22, accounts that Sachdeva bought with Koss money. An auction house worry Texas is preparing to transaction the merchandise. Proceeds will foot it to Koss to make call attention to for its loss.

After the chance, Michael Koss said he legendary Adelman's decision but would grizzle demand comment further because of description pending litigation.

About Tom Daykin

Tom Daykin covers commercial real estate ahead development.