Sachdeva’s prison term ends

Sentence shortened for Koss embezzler

Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva, the Mequon woman who stole $34 million from Koss Corp., is being released from prison Friday, just six years after she began serving an 11-year sentence.

Sachdeva, 53, used the millions she stole to finance a lavish lifestyle that included limousine rides, fancy vacations and shopping sprees, during which she purchased expensive shoes, designer clothes, antiques and jewelry — much of which was never unpacked or worn.

Her thievery lasted a decade, and Michael Koss, the chief executive officer at the company founded by his father, was chastised by corporate governance officials for failing to spot Sachdeva’s thefts.

Koss declined comment this week about Sachdeva’s impending release.

Sachdeva was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2010 after she pleaded guilty to six felony counts. U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman also ordered that she pay at least $500 a month toward the $34 million restitution he ordered.

Sachdeva has spent the past year in an Oakland, Calif., halfway house, and she will be on supervised release for three years.

While doing her time, Sachdeva was able to slice about five years off her sentence.

She received a 15% reduction for good behavior, a discount frequently received by federal inmates. Sachdeva won an additional 25% reduction for helping authorities in the prosecution of two former cohorts who stole some of the jewelry and other items that Sachdeva had bought with Koss funds.

Sachdeva could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Attorney Dean Strang, who represented Sachdeva after her conviction, acknowledged that some might believe that his client is getting off easy.

“The people who complain about six years (prison time) would not be very happy to spend six days in prison,” Strang said. “Every case is more than a dollar total . ... You have to look at the total picture.”

Strang said he did not know what Sachdeva plans to do when released.

Since Sachdeva was convicted, Koss Corp. has collected settlements of $8.5 million from Grant Thornton, the company’s former auditor, and $3 million from American Express. Sachedava often used a corporate credit card to finance her wild spending.

In addition, federal authorities collected a few million dollars by auctioning off merchandise that Sachdeva bought with the money she stole.

As an ex-convict, Sachdeva remains liable for the restitution owed. Court officials will not disclose how much is owed, and Michael Koss said he did not know the amount.

To collect, the government could set up a payment plan with Sachdeva and target her wages, tax refunds and other assets if she doesn’t make payments, said Lisa Warwick, a federal prosecutor in Milwaukee who oversees the Financial Litigation Unit.

“The people who complain about six years (prison time) would not be very happy to spend six days in prison.”

DEAN STRANG, ATTORNEY FOR SUE SACHDEVA, WHO WILL BE RELEASED FROM PRISON ON FRIDAY