Orange County's very own white-collar criminal, Varun Aggarwal, 42, has been slapped with a nearly 3-year prison sentence after swindling over $2.7 million from his employer, a Newport Beach commercial real estate agency where he worked as an auditor. United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney handed down the 33-month sentence and tacked on a hefty $2,729,718 restitution bill.
In a classic tale of betrayal, the Irvine resident exploited his insider knowledge of KBS Realty Advisors’ payment systems, where he had climbed the ranks to director of the internal auditing department. Starting as early as January 2012, Aggarwal began funneling payments to himself, courtesy of phony invoices from supposed contracting work done by approved vendors – vendors who were, unbeknownst to KBS, his friends and family. All this went on under KBS's nose for a staggering ten years until January 2022, when the scheme started to unravel.
According to court documents obtained by the Department of Justice, Aggarwal's resignation from KBS came just as the company began sniffing out the irregular invoices. Aggarwal had used his position to ensure these invoices led straight to his bank accounts, all the while making KBS believe they were paying for legitimate services.
Prosecutors in the case didn't mince words, "[Aggarwal] was not driven to commit his crimes by need, desperation, or the inability to legitimately earn a living," declared a sentencing memorandum, criticizing the former executive’s abuse of trust. "Despite the advantages defendant enjoyed – including a first-rate education and a well-compensated professional career – [Aggarwal] chose to commit the underlying criminal conduct causing great losses and abusing his position of trust over a lengthy period of time." This statement underscores a narrative of greed over necessity.
The FBI took the helm in investigating the case, which was then prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brett A. Sagel of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force. Perhaps the nearly three years behind bars and the multimillion-dollar restitution will give Aggarwal ample time to reflect on the cost of his white-collar crime spree.
