BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A Mountain View couple has been arrested for allegedly working together to funnel $823,299 from a tech company to their own accounts.
Paul Joseph Pichulo, 59, and Suzeth Pruscila Lara, 52, allegedly stole employee benefits from TIBCO Software between March 2016 and February 2024, according to an FBI investigation.
Alleged invoice scheme
Lara was TIBCO’s benefits director. She allegedly created fake invoices for unused benefits and collected payments from benefits providers like Fidelity and CIGNA Health.
She then sent checks to bogus companies created by herself and Pichulo, who transferred the money to their personal accounts and withdrew large sums of cash, FBI Special Agent Jason Hui said in a statement to support an arrest warrant.
Lara and Pichulo allegedly stole $395,015 from two retirement plans, $172,372 from a wellness program and $238,912 from a commuter benefits program.
Pichulo and Lara previously dated and have an 8-year-old child together, Hui said.
Pichulo told investigators on Jan. 30 that he worked as a consultant for TIBCO, creating pamphlets and mailing flyers during an open enrollment period for health insurance once a year.
But Pichulo’s one-man consulting company receiving inflated payments throughout the year that he couldn’t explain, Hui said.
Felony charges
Pichulo was arrested around 9 a.m. on May 11 by his house at 1765 San Ramon Ave., police records show. He’s charged with 26 felonies – 18 counts of grand theft, seven counts of money laundering and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Pichulo posted $750,000 bail for his release two hours after his arrest and missed his arraignment the next day.
Judge Brian Buckelew has issued an arrest warrant, court records show.
Lara was arrested and charged with 39 felonies on May 12. She posted $1 million bail and is due back in court on June 12, court records show.
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