NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Louisiana accountant has been sentenced to just over five years in prison for embezzling more than $7 million from a shipping company and defrauding the U.S. government of more than $1 million in income taxes, according to the Justice Department.
Deepak Jagtiani, 61, of Metairie, received the 63-month sentence Tuesday in federal court on charges of wire fraud and making false statements on a federal income tax return, according to a statement from The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Jagtiani was accused of paying himself excessive salaries and benefits over a decade, beginning in 2009, when he served as the comptroller of Dan-Gulf Shipping, Inc., a Louisiana-based freight forwarding company, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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Jagtiani managed the payroll and other accounts for the company and admitted he used his authority to embezzle millions from Dan-Gulf and its business partner, according to court documents.
Jagtiani also admitted to filing false personal tax returns from 2014 to 2017, in which he claimed business losses through a fake catering business and avoided paying more than $1.2 million in federal income taxes, prosecutors said.
The accountant was ordered to pay restitution to his former employer and the IRS.
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