Updated:
NRI, Natarajan
R Venkataram bailed on a $1million,
secured by $400,000 in cash
New York, December 29, 2005
Harish Chandar
NRI Venkataram was released on a $1million
bail secured by $400,000 in cash by Judge Andrew Peck.
He is confined with electronic monitoring to the home
of a co-signer, and as per bail terms will be permitted
to leave the house only to attend court proceedings.
Judge Andrew Peck first denied bail to Abreu, a Dominican
native but later granted bail at $400,000.
US Attorney's office filed charges against
him and a colleague for allegedly siphoning of more
than $10 million allotted by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The prosecution said, Venkataram
transferred $5.5 million from those funds to bank
accounts in India. OCME obtained millions of dollars
from FEMA that were specifically earmarked for the
purchase of computer hardware, software applications
and support services.
OCME's employee who first reported the
scam to Stephan Zander, Deputy Inspector General for
the Department of Investigation at the NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2004. Department of
Investigation at the NYC found:
- CCR issued checks totaling more than $90,000 to
Infodata Associates Corporation. President of the
company was Gisela Abreu, Rosa Brieu's aunt.
- CCR, HS Group, and Infotech issued checksmore
than $575,000 to A&D Marketing Corporation.
- More than $500,000 was paid Trade A2Z. The address
of this company was Venkataram's home.
- Venkataram floated other companies to show competitive
bid to make it appear that there was a competitive
bid.
The majority of the money made by did little or no
work and were sometimes controlled by the defendants,
prosecution said.
Two
NRI arrested for $5.5 million fraud of Sept. 11 victims
funds
New York, December 10, 2005
Harish Chandar
NRI, non-resident Indian, Natarajan
R. Venkataram, 41, and Rosa Abreu, 38, were arrested
for stealing $5.5 million of dollars intended to help
identify victims of of Sep. 11 attack of World Trade
Center. They transferred these funds to their bank
accounts in India.
An official contract worth $11.4 million
had been given to help the medical examiner to buy
computer hardware, software and support services to
identify victims and the dead people. Venkataram and
Rosa Abreu, both were administrators in the medical
examiner's office and misused their power to steal
the funds
Prosecutors claimed the Natarajan R.
Venkataram, 41, and Rosa Abreu had diverted millions
of dollars to companies, some controlled by them or
their associates, which never work or did small jobs.
