Mehul Goswami, a 39-year-old tech professional of Indian origin, recently made headlines after being arrested in the United States on charges of defrauding the New York State government.
Goswami, who worked as a project coordinator for the New York State Office of Information Technology Services, is accused of holding a second full-time job while being employed by the state.
This practice, known as moonlighting, has led to charges of grand larceny in the second degree, a Class C felony in New York. If convicted, Goswami faces a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
He appeared later in the week before Judge James A. Fauci in Malta Town Court and was released without bail as the case remains pending. Under New York’s revised bail laws, the charges against Goswami are not categorised as a bail-eligible or qualifying offence.
“Public employees are entrusted with the responsibility to serve with integrity, and Goswami’s alleged conduct represents a serious breach of that trust. Working a second, full-time job while claiming to be working for the State is an abuse of public resources, including taxpayer dollars,” Inspector General Lucy Lang said, according to a report by CBS 6 news.
Allegations against Mehul Goswami
In 2024, Goswami’s official salary as a state employee was $117,891 (approximately Rs. 98 lakh). While working remotely for the state government, investigators claim he began working as a contractor for GlobalFoundries, a major semiconductor company based in Malta, New York, in March 2022.
His dual employment allegedly resulted in the misuse of over $50,000 in taxpayer funds. The investigation into Goswami’s actions happened over an anonymous email tip-off, which raised concerns that he was working for a private company during the hours he was meant to fulfil his state duties.