New York: A ‘moonlighting’ effort by an Indian-origin man in New York went horribly wrong after he was arrested on charges of grand larceny. Mehul Goswami (39) may be sentenced to 15 years and fined USD 15,000, if found guilty.
Goswami, a resident of Latham in New York, worked remotely as a project coordinator in the New York State Office of Information Technology Services. Authorities claim that he took up a second full time job in the town of Malta during the hours he was being paid to perform his official duties as a state employee.
He was arrested by a joint team of the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Inspector General’s Office last week.
“Goswami is accused of working a second job in the town of Malta while on the clock and working remotely for the New York State Office of Information Technology Services. As a result, he allegedly stole in excess of USD 50,000 from the state of New York,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
He was arrested for “grand larceny in the 2nd degree (class C felony)”, it said.
“Public employees are entrusted with the responsibility to serve with integrity, and Mr Goswami’s alleged conduct represents a serious breach of that trust. Working a second, full-time job while claiming to be working for the State is an abuse of public resources, including taxpayer dollars,” New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said.
“My office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold anyone accountable who would undermine the integrity of public service in New York State,” she added.
Goswami was arraigned before the Malta Town Court and released on his own recognisance pending further proceedings, the release said.
The charge was not considered a qualifying offence for bail under New York state law, effective January 2020, it said.
Sheriff Michael H Zurlo said, “We look forward to this case’s successful resolution in court.”