U.S. Attorney for SDNY Announces Arrest of Former Hitachi HR Exec for Embezzlement and Fraud

Earlier this week the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest of Dennis Dowd, former senior manager of human resources for Hitachi America, a New York and
California-based electronics manufacturer, in connection with a scheme to embezzle approximately $8 million.

Briefly, according to the complaint, Hitachi America maintained a plan to provide health benefits to eligible employees. Dowd was a senior manager of corporate benefits for Hitachi until March of this year responsible for managing various aspects of Hitachi’s employee benefits programs, including the health benefits plan. In January 1997, Dowd opened a bank account in the name of a fictitious entity into which he later deposited millions of dollars in payments for insurance claims belonging to the health benefits plan.

Dowd diverted the funds in the bank account he created to pay for personal expenses related to himself and his family, including, among other things, consumer goods, luxury cars, and a house in Vero Beach, Florida.

Dowd was charged with one count of embezzlement, one count of fraud, and one count of money laundering. He faces a total maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment if convicted.