Federal prosecutors claim that by day Dhirendra Prasad, 52, was a buyer in Apple's Global Service Supply Chain department, but by night he was an evil conman who exploited his position to defraud the company in several schemes, including stealing parts and causing the company to pay for items and services it never received.

A court has allowed the federal government to seize five real estate properties and financial accounts worth about $5 million from Prasad, and the government is seeking to keep those assets as proceeds of crime, the U.S. Attorney's office in San Jose said in a news release.

Two owners of vendor companies that did business with Apple have admitted to conspiring with Prasad to commit fraud and launder money, prosecutors said.

Prasad is set to appear in US District Court in San Jose on Thursday this week.

Each of the fraud, tax evasion and money laundering charges have a punishment ranging from five to 20 years in prison.

The court has already allowed the seizure of assets and bank accounts worth around $5 million linked to Prasad's alleged offences. The US Attorney's Office said the government is seeking to keep those assets as proceeds of crime. 

This is far from the first run-in Apple employees have had with the law.

Apple filed another lawsuit against a former employee last year, alleging that he stole and leaked company trade secrets to a journalist to get positive press coverage for his start-up.