A Brockton man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding the pharmaceutical company Takeda of $2.3 million. Samuel N. Montronde, aged 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston federal court. His sentence includes two years of supervised release and an order to pay $2.3 million in restitution.
Montronde was convicted on three counts of wire fraud by a federal jury in December 2024, though he was acquitted of one count of wire fraud conspiracy. The case also involved Priya Bhambi, Montronde's girlfriend and a former senior employee at Takeda's technology operations group.
The fraudulent scheme took place in 2022 when Montronde and Bhambi set up a fake consulting company named Evoluzione Consulting LLC. They submitted fabricated invoices for non-existent services to Takeda, resulting in payments totaling $2.3 million.
Bhambi had previously engaged in similar fraudulent activities using another sham consulting company, which led to nearly $300,000 being paid by Takeda for unprovided services.
In February 2022, they incorporated Evoluzione and created a misleading website to present it as a legitimate business. They caused Takeda to sign agreements with Evoluzione and issued invoices between March and May 2022 that were paid based on false representations made by Bhambi.
Takeda eventually discovered the fraud and terminated Bhambi’s employment before paying all five invoices amounting to $460,000 each.
In June 2024, Bhambi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. She received a sentence of 46 months imprisonment followed by two years supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution amounting to $2,585,480.
The funds obtained through this scheme were used by the couple for personal purchases including luxury items such as a Mercedes-Benz Model Class E car, diamond engagement ring, freightliner trucks, a condo valued at $1.9 million in Boston’s Seaport District, and a wedding venue deposit worth $50,000—all subject now to forfeiture under court orders.
The announcement came from United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Jodi Cohen from the FBI's Boston Division who highlighted Takeda's cooperation during the investigation process conducted by Assistant U.S Attorneys Leslie A Wright and Mackenzie A Queenin with forfeiture matters handled by Assistant U.S Attorney Carol E Head.
