BOSTON — Radhika Uppaluri, a former programmer and systems supervisor for the state Executive Office of Education (EOE), has paid a $70,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by, as an EOE employee, hiring and supervising information technology (IT) consultants recruited by her family's company. 

 

Uppaluri signed a Disposition Agreement in which she admitted to the violations and waived her right to a hearing.

 

While at EOE, Uppaluri also held positions in her family's company, Shri Radhe Krishna Corporation (SRK). During 2017-2019, Uppaluri, as an EOE employee, hired four IT consultants recruited through SRK, which resulted in the company receiving $124,832 in recruiting fees. When hiring the consultants, Uppaluri failed to follow EOE's standard procedure of posting the positions on the Commonwealth's official Commbuys procurement system and hiring through an approved vendor. Uppaluri instead hired the four consultants through SRK, which was not an approved vendor. Uppaluri resigned from EOE after the agency learned of her private involvement with SRK.

 

The conflict of interest law prohibits state employees from participating in their official capacity in matters in which they know they, their immediate family, or their business organization have a financial interest. Both Uppaluri's hiring for EOE of IT consultants recruited by her family's company, resulting in the company being paid $124,832 in fees, and her supervising the consultants' work for EOE, violated this prohibition.

 

The conflict of interest law also prohibits public employees from using their official positions to obtain substantially valuable privileges for themselves or others that are not properly available to them. Uppaluri violated this prohibition when she departed from standard EOE hiring procedures to secure for her family's company, which was not an approved vendor, the lucrative business opportunity of providing IT consultants to EOE.

 

In addition, as an officer or employee of SRK, Uppaluri directly or indirectly received fees SRK was paid for recruiting IT consultants for the team she supervised at EOE. In doing so, she violated the conflict of interest law's prohibition against state employees receiving compensation from anyone other than the Commonwealth in relation to a matter of direct and substantial interest to the Commonwealth. Finally, Uppaluri violated the conflict of interest law's prohibition against a state employee having a financial interest in a state contract in addition to their state job.

 

The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission's Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.