Karan Gupta, a 48-year-old former senior director at healthcare company , has been sentenced to 36 months in prison in the US for his role in a scheme that defrauded his employer of more than $950,000.
Gupta, who is based in Walnut Creek, in the US state of California, was sentenced on August 24, before US District Judge Kate M Menendez. He had been found guilty by a federal jury on February 17 following a six-day trial, according to the .
Who is Karan Gupta?
Gupta was a senior director at Optum, where he supervised a team that included his longtime friend, Shangraf Kaul.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gupta hired Kaul as a data engineering manager on his team in late 2015, despite Kaul allegedly lacking the qualifications for the position.
Prosecutors said Kaul did not perform any work at Optum for more than three years while receiving a six-figure salary.
Gupta allegedly used his position as Kaul’s supervisor to facilitate the arrangement and demanded that Kaul return approximately 60% of his salary to him as kickbacks.
What was the alleged fraud?
According to the US Department of Justice, Gupta and Kaul were involved in a no-show job arrangement that ran between 2015 and 2020.
Kaul was employed by Optum but allegedly did not perform the work associated with his position. Gupta, meanwhile, received a portion of Kaul’s salary through kickback payments.
The payments were initially made through cash deposits into Gupta’s bank account. Gupta later devised a way for the two to conceal the transfers using a separate checking account that he could access, prosecutors said.
The total fraud against Optum exceeded $950,000, according to the .
How was Gupta caught?
The scheme was ultimately uncovered after Optum terminated Gupta in November 2019 for his involvement in a similar no-show employee fraud.
The company investigated the matter and referred the case to federal law enforcement.
The FBI subsequently investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.
What was Gupta convicted of?
A federal jury found Gupta guilty on February 17, 2026, after a six-day trial. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced to 36 months in prison on August 24.
US Attorney Daniel N Rosen said the case demonstrated that fraud against a private company was not a victimless crime.
“Defrauding a private company is not a victimless crime,” Rosen said, adding that Gupta’s actions undermined a healthcare provider relied upon by millions of Americans.
FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said the case demonstrated the seriousness with which the justice system treats fraud involving no-show positions and concealed criminal proceeds.
What happened to Gupta’s co-conspirator?
Gupta’s longtime friend and alleged co-conspirator, Shangraf Kaul, 45, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on February 26, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Kaul is currently awaiting sentencing, according to the US Department of Justice.
The case was investigated by the FBI, while Assistant US Attorneys Matthew D. Forbes and Rebecca E. Kline prosecuted the matter.
