Indian-American embezzler's online auction nets $75,000
Monday, 11 April 2011, 15:09 IST
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HOUSTON: A U.S. federal law agency has raised about $75,000 from an auction of clothing, shoes and accessories seized from Indian-American executive Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva, jailed for 11 years for embezzling $34 million. The online auction of her ill-gotten clothing, accessories and footwear wrapped up Thursday afternoon with dozens of bids on some items and no bids on others. Top bids have been as low as $155 and as high as $7,350. The items that received the most bids were five pairs of Prada shoes with 70 bids and a top bid of $1,686. There were 70 bids for a lot of miscellaneous designer handbags, with the price reaching $5,375 about 45 minutes before the auction was to end. A lot of miscellaneous designer suits, pants, tops, dresses jackets and evening gowns had attracted no bids at the suggested first-bid level of $ 7,350. On the less-expensive end, the latest bid for three pairs of Sergio Rossi shoes was USD 255 and had attracted 11 bids. Proceeds from the auction will go to Sachdeva's former employer Koss Corp in Milwaukee as restitution for her $34 million embezzlement. Sachdeva, 47, was sentenced to 11 years last year for embezzling $34 million from Koss Corporation, where she had served as vice president of finance and secretary. She had pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud in connection with the case and agreed to pay full restitution. Earlier, an auction of Sachdeva's ill-gotten jewelry raised about $1.2 million in March. The auction was only the first round with more rounds to come, as not much money was raised so far. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, results of the online auction met the agency's expectations and about 500 items out of 2000 items were sold online, leaving 19,500 items for forthcoming auctions. The items in the online auction were grouped in lots that consisted of multiple pairs of shoes, boots, suits, skirts and so on. Lots with multiples of designer handbags were also auctioned. Winning bids ranged from $ 200 to more than $5,000, but some items failed to attract bids.
Source: PTI
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