An Irvine couple made their first appearance in court Thursday on charges of embezzling nearly $5 million from a web and advertising company.
Gurpreet Lakhiani, 41, and her husband Deepak Lakhiani, 40, were charged Tuesday with multiple felony charges including grand theft, money laundering, receiving stolen property and tax evasion, all felonies. They also face sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime exceeding $500,000.
The two did not enter a plea at their arraignment Thursday in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana. The arraignment was rescheduled for March 18 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Gurpreet Lakhiani worked for BroadSpring as controller from 2009 to 2017 and as vice president of finance from 2017 until November 2021, police said in court records.
Gurpreet Lakhiani had complete control of the company’s finances and was accused of embezzling nearly $5 million between 2012 through September 2021, police alleged. The theft was done by transferring company funds to personal accounts and using corporate credit cards for personal expenses, police alleged.
In court papers, Irvine investigator Sarah Voigt said Deepak Lakhiani “has knowledge in computer security and hacking, and is believed to have used Gurpreet’s login credentials either with her knowledge and assistance, or with out, to access BroadSpring’s financial accounts and transfer funds. Gurpreet concealed the theft by falsifying journal entries, misclassifying stolen amounts as legitimate business expenses to keep the company’s financial records balanced.”
The stolen money was “used to pay for their lavish lifestyle, which included purchasing real estate, cars, jewelry and travel,” Voigt said in court papers.
The alleged theft “caused BroadSpring to close its doors and let many hardworking employees go,” Voigt said. “Many of these employees struggled to find employment and make ends meet.”