Perhaps sending large sums of money to Qatar was the give away, but whatever clued federal authorities onto the criminal activity of Abdirahman Ismail Abdi ended his time as a free man.

A judge sentenced the former auditor of the California Water Service Co. to four years and four months behind bars.

On his final day of work, Mr. Abdi sent more than $9 million to banks to Qatar, sent his wife and children to Germany, and then fled to Canada. The transaction was suspended pending investigation, and was later returned to the company.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A former water-company auditor will spend more than four years in prison for stealing $9.2 million of the firm’s money and depositing it into overseas bank accounts on the day he resigned, authorities said today.

Abdirahman Ismail Abdi, 34, pleaded no contest Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court to felony grand theft. As part of a plea agreement, he will be sentenced to four years and four months behind bars, authorities said.

Abdi resigned April 27, 2009, from his auditing job at California Water Service Co. in San Jose. Authorities say Abdi stole pass codes to two company computers that evening to send $9.2 million into bank accounts in Qatar.

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