United States of America v. Sajju Khatiwada

Nashville, Tennessee, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343, money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1956, and money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1957.

Reported by: Kent Morlan

Sajju Khatiwada, 45, of Franklin, Tennessee, worked at Bridgestone’s corporate headquarters in Nashville from April 2016 until April 2024, most recently as Assistant Treasurer, Capital Planning and Funding. As part of his work in Bridgestone’s Treasury Operations Department, Khatiwada managed the company’s relationships with banks that provided credit card processing services for Bridgestone retail locations across the United States.

In July 2020, Khatiwada created a fictitious vendor, named Paymt-Tech, LLC, registered the company in Nevada under the name of an acquaintance, and opened bank accounts in the fictitious vendor’s name. On a monthly basis spanning nearly four years from August 2020 to April 2024, Khatiwada sent fraudulent invoices via email to other Bridgestone employees, falsely representing that Bridgestone owed Paymt-Tech money for purported “service charges.” But Paymt-Tech performed no services for Bridgestone, and Khatiwada was not entitled to any of the money.

Relying on the fraudulent invoices, Bridgestone paid a total of $14,923,978.57 into Paymt-Tech accounts controlled by Khatiwada. Khatiwada transferred the fraud proceeds into financial and investment accounts under his control, where the money generated more than $6.1 million in interest, dividends, and other gains. In his plea agreement, Khatiwada admitted that the scheme generated approximately $21 million in total unlawful proceeds and agreed to forfeit that amount to the United States. He also owes restitution to Bridgestone totaling $14,923,978.57, plus interest, with the final amount to be determined by the court.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty. . He faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.