Priya Bhambi of Brooklyn has been sentenced to prison for stealing Takeda

A former Takeda pharmaceutical executive was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to embezzling $2.5 million and using the stolen money to put down a down payment on a condo, put a down payment on a wedding venue and buy an engagement ring and a luxury car, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office said.

Priya Bhambi, 40, and her then-boyfriend, Samuel N. Montrond, were arrested on January 11, 2023, on charges that they organized and executed a scheme to defraud a multinational company.

Bambi, who lives in Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Boston on one count of conspiracy to defraud and three counts of wire fraud.

At a sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor imposed a 46-month sentence followed by two years of supervised release. Saylor also ordered $2.5 million in restitution and forfeited Bhambi’s Mercedes-Benz Model E, a diamond ring, a Seaport condominium, a $49,985 wedding venue deposit and more than $1 million related to her theft. Levy’s office said in a statement.

Bhambi’s “gross breach of trust” was driven by “sheer greed,” Levy said in a statement.

“This sentence sends two strong signals: firstly, these are very serious consequences for executives who use their positions to line their own pockets, and secondly, for companies that have become victims of embezzlement, law enforcement agencies are prepared to do everything possible to to recover stolen funds and prosecute individuals for defrauding their employers.”

“Fraud is never the answer,” said FBI Special Agent Jody Cohen.

“Priya Bhambi apparently felt that her nearly half a million dollar salary at Takeda was not enough, so she orchestrated an elaborate financial fraud scheme to steal millions more to boost her salary,” said Cohen, the head of the FBI’s Boston office. “(Bhambi) will now pay for his crimes with restitution and prison time.”

Montrond’s trial is scheduled for December 2. He and Bhambi are no longer a couple.

According to the criminal complaint, in 2022, while Bhambi was working in the company’s technology operations group, she and Montronde created a shell consulting company they called Evoluzione Consulting LLC.

In late January 2022, Bhamby hatched the plan via text message, telling Montronde that the wheels had set in motion due to “a little fuss lol… I can’t be the face of it though.”

“Do some paperwork, open some accounts, decide on a brand and come up with a name, that’s all there was to it,” she wrote.

A week later, they fantasized about their life as millionaires, the text messages in the criminal complaint state.

They registered a fake company in Brockton and developed a website for it, complete with fabricated blog posts to look like a legitimate business, prosecutors said.

Bhambi then coordinated the execution of a master services agreement between Takeda, whose US headquarters are in Cambridge, and Evoluzione. Takeda issued a $3.542 million contract for consulting services to a bogus company, the complaint said.

Evoluzione later issued five invoices totaling $460,000 for services not rendered.

The company became suspicious but paid the bills after questioning Bhambi, who explained the problems, the complaint said.

Tonya Alanez can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @talanez.