In its latest release, the DOJ announced that an Indian-origin man in California has been found guilty of running a multi-year fraud scheme against his former employer, Optum, Inc., a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Karan Gupta, 47, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, ten counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering conspiracy after a six-day trial in US District Court in Minneapolis.
California executive convicted of $1.2M fraud at Optum
According to court records, Gupta worked as a senior director of data analytics at Optum, earning over $260,000 annually. In 2015, he helped a lifelong friend land a managerial data engineering role at Optum, despite the friend being unqualified. According to DOJ, Gupta provided a false resume, which his friend used to secure the position, and then became his direct supervisor.
According to the DOJ statement, for nearly four years, the friend did almost no work. He rarely met colleagues, sent very few emails, and often did not log into his Optum computer for weeks. Despite this, he collected a salary that started above $100,000.
Karan Gupta, age 47, a Senior Director at Optum, a subsidiary of United Health Group, was found guilty after a six day trial on multiple counts, including fraud and money laundering conspiracy, for hiring an unqualified friend for a position where the friend did no work and paid… pic.twitter.com/cgIWXGXvhK
— FBI Minneapolis (@FBIMinneapolis) February 18, 2026
The investigation revealed that Gupta demanded more than half of the friend’s salary as kickbacks. To hide the payments, the friend initially withdrew cash from his New Jersey bank and deposited it so Gupta could access it in California. Later, he opened a new checking account for Optum deposits and mailed Gupta the debit card, which Gupta used to withdraw the funds from ATMs in California.
Legal actions taken
The scheme went on for years until it was uncovered after Gupta was fired in November 2019 for a different fraud. Following this, Optum investigated and referred the case to federal authorities. The total amount Gupta stole from Optum exceeded $1.2 million.
US Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said, “Those who manufacture fraudulent schemes to appropriate money from legitimate businesses must be held accountable for their criminal conduct. Kickback schemes and no-show jobs undermine legitimate businesses, and the perpetrators must suffer the consequences of their actions.”
Rick Evanchec, of the FBI’s Minneapolis Office, added, “Mr. Gupta abused his position of trust as the Senior Director of a subsidiary of the largest healthcare provider in the United States to defraud his company by hiring a ghost employee for a fictitious position, so that he could collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks over many years. The FBI is committed to holding those in positions of power accountable, particularly when the cost of their actions is ultimately passed along to hard-working Americans.”