WASHINGTON: Two top Indian-American executives have been arrested in the US for allegedly misrepresenting their company finances to inflate its stock price. Nandu Thondavadi, 62, CEO of Schaumburg-based Quadrant 4 System, and Dhru Desai, 55, the company chief financial officer and chairman, were charged with wire fraud and certifying false financial reports related to two acquisitions and the settlement of a lawsuit against the company in 2013.
Both appeared in the Chicago federal court to hear the charges that carry a maximum penalty of 20 years each for wire fraud and certifying false financial reports. Thondavadi faces an additional charge of making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission in May, during an investigation into the company's financial practices. The firm, which also had its office in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Madurai, launched in 2010 and provided software and consulting services to health care and education customers.
Quadrant 4 reported USD 52 million in revenues and a net loss of USD 516,000 for 2015, according to financial filings. Federal authorities launched an investigation of the company earlier this year, based on indications that the firm's recent annual reports to the SEC contained false information, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Investigation showed both, Thondavadi and Desai certified the reports even though they knew the documents did not fairly present the true financial condition of the company. Thondavadi then lied under oath when questioned by the SEC in May about some of the falsehoods.
