Marietta man sentenced to prison for defrauding Georgia flooring company
ATLANTA - Jana Kanyadan, the former global chief information officer of Mohawk Industries, Inc., has been sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud the company out of nearly $1.9 million.
What we know
Kanyadan, 54, of Marietta, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and seven counts of wire fraud on Nov. 1, 2024. Along with his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and $985,166.66 in restitution. He will also serve three years of supervised release after completing his sentence.
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown emphasized the agency's commitment to holding corporate fraudsters accountable. "The defendant stole money that should have gone to his employer," Brown said. "We will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone who attempts to scam their employer out of funds."
The backstory
According to prosecutors, Kanyadan was responsible for overseeing Mohawk's IT services and operations. In 2019, the company launched a multi-year IT project that required outsourcing work to IT consulting firms. Kanyadan secretly created and controlled a Georgia-based company, Meta Technology Platforms, LLC ("Meta Tech"), and used his position to direct Mohawk's outsourced IT work to the firm without disclosing his involvement.
Between May 7, 2022, and Oct. 2, 2022, Meta Tech submitted fraudulent invoices to Mohawk totaling approximately $3 million. These invoices falsely claimed payment for services never performed and software never provided, while also charging inflated hourly rates that Kanyadan himself approved on behalf of Mohawk. In total, Mohawk paid Meta Tech nearly $1.86 million, with approximately $820,577.40 of that amount tied directly to fraud.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation into Kanyadan's fraudulent activities, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal, along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tal C. Chaiken, prosecuted the case.
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