Mumbai, October 29: A woman has been booked for allegedly siphoning off Rs 35.88 lakhs from her employer, an international online shopping giant, by submitting fake invoices of different eateries and hotels. The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) police have registered a first information report (FIR) against her for committing fraud between 2017 and 2022. She was employed with the company as an executive assistant (process) during this period.

As per a report by the Times of India, the accused, Sujitha Lambthure, siphoned Rs 35.88 lakh from the company's account to pay for food bills. The company’s legal team filed a complaint against her after an internal probe pointed out the fraud she had committed by submitting fake invoices of restaurants in their internal audit. The case was registered recently after the company filed a written complaint on August 7, 2023. The police officer of the BKC police station said that action will be initiated soon. Crypto Trading Scam in Mumbai: Doctor Duped of Over Rs 1 Crore After Purchasing Cryptocurrencies on Instruction of 'Expert' Met on Facebook.

The company’s audit team for travel and expenses reimbursement, in conjunction with the Business Conduct and Ethics Team (BCET), had previously uncovered this fraudulent activity. Ayushi S, a representative of the company’s legal team, alleged that the audit revealed that the vendors who had submitted bills to the company were not located at the addresses provided on the bills. Additionally, some hotels, whose invoices were submitted by Lambthure to the accounts department, discovered that she was not a customer of their establishments.

According to the police, Lambthure had submitted fake screenshots of UPI transactions to the company, alleging they were payments she had made from her personal account. However, her bank statements did not correspond with the reimbursements she claimed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred during work. “In the course of the company’s internal investigation, they discovered logos of various well-known eateries and restaurants on her company laptop. These were places where she purported to have ordered food and paid via UPI,” the police reported. Cyber Fraud in Mumbai: Cops Fall Victim to Online Fraud, Lose Over Rs 1 Lakh; Probe On.

Lambthure tendered her resignation in September 2022, requesting immediate release from her duties. In response, the company served Lambthure a legal notice on January 1, 2023. Despite this, she failed to respond to the legal notice, as per the police. Subsequently, in August, the company lodged a formal complaint against Lambthure with the BKC police.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 29, 2023 08:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).