An Irvine couple accused of embezzling nearly $5 million from a web and advertising company pleaded guilty Tuesday to substantially reduced charges in a plea deal from an Orange County Superior Court judge and were placed on two years of probation.
Gurpreet Lakhiani, 42, and her husband Deepak Lakhiani, 41, pleaded guilty to a felony count of receiving stolen property in a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge John Adams, who reduced two dozen counts for grand theft, money laundering and receiving stolen property to misdemeanors. The couple pleaded no contest to the misdemeanors.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office objected to the judge’s plea deal.
The couple reached a settlement in a civil suit before resolving their criminal case, said defense attorney Paul Meyer, who represents Deepak Lakhiani.
Adams sentenced the couple to 180 days in jail, but stayed the execution of that punishment as long as they complete probation without any violations, according to court records. In a year, the felony counts can be reduced to misdemeanors, Meyer said.
“We appreciate the thorough and careful analysis by the court,” Meyer said.
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.”