The manner in which the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) leadership is concealing the fact that they received a notice from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last month regarding the alleged siphoning of over $3.5 million from the TANA Foundation has raised eyebrows.
During a recent TANA board meeting, when some board members brought up the FBI-IRS-DOJ notices, the leadership claimed that these notices could not be shared with members as they were classified as "Top Secret." However, this assertion has proven to be false.
The notices, sent via email in PDF format, did not carry any classification as "Top Secret." These documents have since circulated widely in WhatsApp groups.
The contents of the notices are deeply concerning. The investigating agencies have demanded detailed records from the past six years, including member details, leadership information, event records, donor lists, matching grants, meeting summaries, financial accounts, receipts, expenses, budgets, and addresses of representatives.
Despite being asked to present these records before a jury on December 26, the TANA leadership reportedly missed the deadline and is now using TANA funds to hire lawyers to seek extensions. Members fear that TANA's survival depends on the outcome of the FBI investigation.
“If the FBI is satisfied with the inquiry, TANA may survive. Otherwise, it could face a fate similar to other national Telugu associations,” said a source.
Members are calling for an end to "one-man army" approaches within TANA and for the formation of a capable committee to handle these notices effectively, thereby restoring members’ trust.
This controversy stems from allegations against former TANA Foundation treasurer Srikanth Polavarapu, who was accused of diverting over $3.5 million to his company, Bruhat Technologies, in Irving, Texas, without consulting the Foundation.
In November, TANA Board Chairman Dr. Nagendra Srinivas Kodali and Foundation Chairman Sasikanth Vallepalli confronted Srikanth, who admitted via email to the diversion of funds. He acknowledged that the decision was his alone and took full responsibility for the incident.
The TANA Board held an emergency meeting and unanimously passed a resolution urging Dr. Kodali to take immediate action to recover the diverted funds. They also resolved to implement necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Srikanth subsequently resigned as a Foundation Trustee, a resignation that was swiftly accepted. To date, he has repaid $400,000 and pledged to repay the full amount of $3.6 million.
Following a complaint from a member, the FBI initiated an investigation and issued notices to the TANA Board, demanding the submission of all relevant documents and hard drives, sources confirmed.
