US Company Fires 200 In 'Donation Scam' Related To Telugu Organisations

US federal mortgage giant Fannie Mae has laid off about 700 employees, including Telugu workers, over the two days. About 200, a majority of them Telugu, were fired on "ethical grounds", The Times Of India reported, citing sources.

The terminations are linked to the irregularities and misuse of the company's "matching grants program", a scheme designed to support charitable donations, according to the English daily.

Some employees were allegedly hand-in-glove with non-profit organisations, such as the Telugu Association of North America (TANA), and misused company funds. TANA is at the centre of the controversy, with one laid-off employee holding a regional vice president position in the organisation and another the spouse of a former president of the American Telugu Association (ATA), the report said. 

This controversy follows a similar scandal at Apple in January 2025, where over 100 employees were fired for misusing its "Matching Gifts Programme." The tech giant's programme matches employees' charitable contributions to eligible non-profit organisations.

Some employees allegedly coordinated with certain charitable organisations to create fraudulent records and transfer matching funds back to themselves. Though the figures are unconfirmed, reports suggested about 185 employees were affected.

The TANA was being investigated in connection with the alleged misuse of corporate matching grants, including those from Apple.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating TANA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a report in The Economic Times.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office in December last year charged six former Apple non-Indian employees with exploiting the company's charitable donation program. It resulted in approximately $152,000 being extracted from the company and overreporting around $100,000 in charitable contributions as tax deductions.

Last December, the Northern District of California court issued a subpoena to TANA to testify before a grand jury, which requested records of donations received, amounts spent and information on the representatives who worked for the organisation at various levels between 2019 and 2024.