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McHenry County News DISPLAY ADVERTISING & CLASSIFIEDS: 815-654-4850 • CIRCULATION: 815-654-4854 • E-MAIL: McHenryNews@RVPublishing.com VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 14
11512 N. 2nd ST. • MACHESNEY PARK, IL 61115
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
Former partner in Global Consulting Firm sentenced to two years in prison A former Chicago-based partner in a global consulting firm has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for scheming with a client to bilk their companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in purported consulting work that was never performed. Navdeep Arora, a former partner in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company Inc., plotted with a former internal consultant at State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. to defraud both companies out of phony consulting fees. Arora also fraudulently obtained money from McKinsey, State Farm and other McKinsey clients in the form of purported work-related travel reimbursements for expenses that were actually incurred on Arora’s personal trips. Arora falsely expensed personal trips to Scottsdale, Ariz.; Vail, Colo.; Las Vegas, Nev.; London, England; Prague, Czech Republic; Munich, Germany; and elsewhere. He took the State Farm employee, Matthew Sorensen, on two personal vacations – to Napa, Calif. and New York, N.Y. – and expensed them to State Farm as business expenses. The costs included flights, hotels, meals, car services and other items. Arora, 53, of London, England, and formerly of Chicago, was arrested in 2016 at JFK International Airport in New York after arriving on an overseas flight. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the sentence Wednesday in federal court in Chicago. The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Arora and Sorensen “concocted a fraudulent scheme to benefit themselves during their employment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunil R. Harjani argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The defendants’ actions have caused both companies to undertake time and expense uncovering this fraud, destroyed a longstanding relationship between these two companies, and caused reputational harm.” Sorensen, of Bloomington, Ill., also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge. Judge Guzman in September 2017 sentenced Sorensen to one year and one day in prison. Arora and Sorensen had a longstanding business relationship through Arora’s work overseeing the consulting services McKinsey provided to State Farm. At State Farm, Sorensen provided input and recommendations about whether to hire outside consultants for company projects and who to retain. According to the charges, their fraud scheme began in 2007. Arora and Sorensen used two corporate entities – “Gabriel Solutions” and “Andy’s BCB” – to defraud their employers out of the phony fees. Sorensen billed McKinsey for the bogus work purportedly performed by the companies, while Arora allocated the fees to the State Farm projects to which he was assigned. As a result, McKinsey and State Farm paid $38,265 for consulting services purportedly performed by “Andy’s BCB,” and $452,710 in fees billed by “Gabriel Solutions.” Sorensen pocketed a large majority of the money, while Arora received a substantial salary and benefits from McKinsey for maintaining its business relationship with State Farm.
ALONQUIN PD PHOTOS McHenry County News
Shamrock Shave
Algonquin Police Department got a little balder over the weekend thanks to these officers getting shaved at the 10th Annual Shamrock Shave at St Margaret Mary!
Thanks to all who contributed to this great cause. Proceeds from this event went to the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. SUBMITTED PHOTO McHenry County News
St. Baldricks
Huntley High School students and staff had a great time supporting a great cause at its annual St. Baldrick’s assembly last week.
Harvard man arrested on drug charges The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force (which includes Task Force Officers from Lake in the Hills PD and McHenry City PD) has arrested Genaro Pena, 35, of Harvard, for unlawful possession a controlled substance. In the afternoon of March 13, 2018, members of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Multi-jurisdictional SWAT Team served a search warrant at an apartment on North Ayer Street in Harvard. Members of the Narcotics Task Force then arrested Pena, who was in that apartment, on drug charges. The Harvard Police Department had received numerous citizen complaints of drug dealing from this apartment and worked with the Narcotics Task Force during a three-month-long investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, detectives seized 5 ½ Clonazepam pills, 10 Methadone pills, 15 Alprazolam pills, cocaine residue, heroin residue, and packaging materials. The estimated street value of the il-
legal drugs seized is approximately $305.00. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information regarding criminal activities to contact either the McHenry County Crime Stoppers at 1-800762-STOP (7867), The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (815) 338-2144, or the tip line email address;TipLine@co.mchenry.il.us. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the offender(s). Genaro Pena was charged with five counts - Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (class 4) and one count - Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (class A) A court date was set for March 16. Bond was set at $30,000 The charges against these individuals are merely allegations against them. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.