Pace IT expert from Schaumburg sentenced in kickback scheme

A former Pace administrator who scammed thousands from the suburban bus service was sentenced to a year and a day in prison Friday by a federal judge, officials said.

Rajinder Sachdeva, 54, of Schaumburg was charged in 2015 with demanding and accepting kickbacks dating back to 2010.

Sachdeva was the department manager of applications at Arlington Heights-based Pace.

Authorities said he conned more than $280,000 in kickbacks and gratuities involving information technology contracts and contractors with the agency.

Prosecutors said he concealed some of the payments that he received by funneling money through a business that employed the IT contractors and in which Sachdeva's wife had an interest.

Sachdeva was a silent partner in the company, prosecutors said.

Sachdeva's partner at the company wore a wire during a meeting at a Schaumburg McDonald's where Sachdeva made incriminating statements.

Sachdeva's wife was not charged with any wrongdoing.