Brookline Woman Charged In $2.3M Fraud Scheme

BOSTON, MA — A Brookline woman who is a former senior technology operations employee of a pharmaceutical company is facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to engaging in a scheme to defraud the company of at least $2.3 million, officials said Thursday.

Priya Bhambi, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud against Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited after being charged with an alleged co-conspirator in an indictment filled in March 2023.

Between Jan. and Oct. 2022, Bhambi and the co-conspirator — who did not work at the company — are accused of defrauding the company of millions in payments for purported consulting services by submitting fabricated invoices on behalf of a sham consulting group.

The pair incorporated Evoluzione Consulting LLC, for which Bhambi created a website with false information including fabricated blog posts to make it appear that Evoluzione was a legitimate consulting business, according to officials.

They were then accused of submitting a statement of work to Takeda and caused Takeda to sign a master services agreement with Evoluzione and issue a purchase order to Evoluzione for consulting services with a total cost of $3.542 million.

Next, they are accused of fabricating and submitting to Takeda five separate invoices for services that Evoluzione had not performed, each in the amount of $460,000.

When questioned by Takeda employees, Bhambi and the alleged co-conspirator made false representations regarding the services purportedly provided by Evoluzione.

Bhambi and her alleged co-conspirator used the fraudulently obtained funds to purchase a Mercedes-Benz Model E; purchase a diamond engagement ring; make a down payment on a $1.875 million condominium in Boston's Seaport neighborhood; and place a deposit on a wedding venue, officials said.

The charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.