A significant financial scam has been uncovered at the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) Foundation, involving Srikanth Polavarapu, the foundation's former treasurer. Investigations revealed that more than $3 million of TANA funds were redirected to his own company, Brihat Technologies, based in Texas, without the consent of the foundation’s governing body.
On November 25, the TANA board held an emergency meeting to address the issue, following the discovery of the fund diversion. The board took immediate action, expressing serious concerns about the matter. It was unanimously decided that efforts would be made to recover the misappropriated funds. Additionally, a show-cause notice was issued to Srikanth Polavarapu, instructing him to attend the next board meeting scheduled for November 25, 2024.
TANA Board Chairman, Dr. Sri Nagendra Srinivas, affirmed that legal steps would be pursued to ensure the recovery of the diverted funds. He assured that despite this issue, the foundation’s service activities would continue without disruption. Srikanth Polavarapu has not been in contact with the foundation regarding the matter and has admitted to the unauthorized diversion of funds.
Earlier, Srikanth Polavarapu had a discussion with TANA Foundation Chairman, Sri Sasikanth Vallepalli, where he acknowledged that the funds had been diverted. He claimed the decision was made independently. However, Dr. Srinivas clarified that Polavarapu had communicated via email, taking full responsibility for the incident.