An Apple Inc. manager who faces several counts of fraud and accusations of trading secrets in exchange for about $1 million in kickbacks will remain in prison until a Wednesday court hearing, an Internal Revenue Service agent said today.
Paul Shin Divine was arrested Friday for allegedly selling confidential information to several of Apple Inc.’s suppliers in Asia, IRS Special Agent Arlette Lee said.
Divine named a lawyer, Raphael M. Goldman, at his hearing on Monday and entered a plea of not guilty, according to court documents.
He was held in prison Friday after not naming his defense lawyer that day, but court officers decided to continue holding him Monday for a Wednesday detention hearing, which will determine whether or not he will be released, she added.
In addition to receiving payments, Divine also faces charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, and doing business with stolen company property, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose. The indictment lists 23 counts total.
An alleged co-conspirator, Andrew Ang, was also named in the indictment. The document claims Ang received confidential information about Apple products from Divine via e-mail and collaborated with Divine to sell the secrets to Apple’s Asian suppliers in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Apple Inc. filed a civil suit separate from the San Jose indictment on Friday against Divine alleging that he was paid about $1 million from 2006 to 2009 in exchange for confidential company information.
The FBI and IRS have both been investigating the case, Lee said.
Divine apparently evaded government investigation by requesting transfers from the Asian companies in sums less than $10,000, according to messages from Divine described in Apple Inc.’s civil suit.
One message said, “Please do not send Sept and Oct payment together in one wire transfer. Anything over $10,000 wired could draw too much attention.”
Divine’s next court appearance is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
