MINNEAPOLIS, February 2026 — A federal jury has convicted a former senior director at Optum, Inc. for orchestrating a sophisticated “ghost employee” scheme that drained more than $1.2 million from the healthcare giant. Karan Gupta, 47, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, ten counts of wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy following a six-day trial.
The verdict marks the end of a long-running internal deception that turned a position of corporate trust into a personal ATM.
Hiring a “No-Show” Friend
The fraud began in 2015 when Gupta, then the Senior Director of Data Analytics, used his authority to recruit a lifelong friend for a managerial data engineering position. To secure the role, Gupta provided the company with a fabricated resume, masking the fact that his friend was entirely unqualified for the high-level technical job.
Once hired, Gupta became the friend’s direct supervisor, creating a closed loop of oversight. For nearly four years, the friend performed zero work—sending virtually no emails, meeting no colleagues, and often failing to log into his Optum computer for weeks at a time.
The Kickback Economy
Despite his absence from actual duties, the friend collected a premium salary that started above $100,000 and swelled with annual raises and bonuses. However, the true beneficiary was Gupta. Under a secret agreement, the friend paid back more than half of his unearned salary to Gupta in kickbacks.
To hide the paper trail, the duo used two primary methods:
- Cash Deposits: The friend would withdraw cash in New Jersey and deposit it into Gupta’s bank branches so Gupta could withdraw it in California.
- The Debit Card Loophole: Later, the friend opened a dedicated checking account for his salary and handed the physical debit card to Gupta, allowing him to withdraw fraud proceeds directly from ATMs.
How the House of Cards Collapsed
The scheme did not end because of Optum’s internal “ghost employee” detection, but rather as a result of Gupta’s own hubris. In November 2019, Optum terminated Gupta for an unrelated fraud the company had uncovered.
It was only during the subsequent deep-dive investigation into Gupta’s activities that the company realized one of its “managerial engineers” had been a fiction for four years. Optum then referred the case to the FBI, leading to the federal indictment.
Bottom Line
Gupta, who earned over $260,000 annually at the peak of his career, now faces significant prison time. Federal prosecutors emphasized that the case is a stark reminder of how “no-show” jobs and kickback schemes undermine legitimate businesses, ultimately passing costs down to the healthcare system and consumers.
