To Catch An Embezzler

In May of 2007 I took on a temp. job.  It was a two week assignment which was a perfect fit for me considering I am quite challenged when it comes to committing to anything long term.

Within a week I was offered a full-time position. I smiled and thanked the President of the company, and explained to him that I was a free spirit and didn't like to get tied down to any one job in particular.  He told me to sleep on it. So I did. 

And then the next morning I accepted the offer.

Fast forward five years. Yep. Still there! And accumulating an absolute fortune (for me, any way) in my 401-K which was why I decided to accept the offer in the first place. And now I was being asked to take on more responsibility - processing checks - accounts payable and receivable type stuff.  But by this time I could barely get myself out of bed in the morning. I was beginning to get pretty depressed and my body was even getting in on the act (anxiety attacks, headaches, frozen shoulder, etc.). Office work was not what I moved to Los Angeles to do so many years ago. (Not that there's anything wrong with it...) So, I declined that offer and even took a demotion as I began planning my escape.  

The question that popped up in my head often during that time was, "Why am I still here?"  And then there was the other question, "How can I get the hell out of here?"  Part of the dilemma was that I absolutely loved my co-workers. They had become like family to me. So, in leaving that job it would be like leaving my 'work' family! 

One of those co-workers who had become like family was the one who was hired in my place to do accounting type stuff.  She was a lively, attractive woman who had impeccable taste in fashion. I don't think she wore the same outfit twice and the jewelry and shoes she wore were amazing too!  (I myself had one good pair of work shoes and I never wore jewelry at all, mainly because it took every ounce of my energy just to get to work on time. Who had time to accessorize?)

Anyhoos, back to my story.  It was September 13, 2012 and my co-worker had to leave early that day. So I was asked to go through some files to look for a series of monthly invoices from one of our vendors.  And, that's when 'it' happened.  It was a moment that I will never forget because I just knew that something was very wrong the moment I saw it -- an invoice from the previous October had been xeroxed. The second one had the invoice number whited out. (Why would anyone white out an invoice number?)  There were different check stubs stapled to each invoice, each in the amount of $7,000.00. I showed it to my boss and by this time it was almost 5:00 p.m. so she told me to look in to it further the following morning.  

Man, it was hard to sleep that night!

As a kid I read nearly every Nancy Drew book that came out and then Agatha Christie and more recently Ann Rule's True Crime non-fiction series. So I have always had an investigative kind of mind, bordering on paranoia!

The following morning, my boss and I rejoined forces and took a look at the bank statements from that month. Sure enough, the second check for $7,000 was made out to a company that had nothing to do with our business. We looked at each other and our faces turned white.  Luckily my embezzling co-worker was off that day. My boss and I spent the rest of the day looking for other checks that had been forged.  By the end of the day we had found about 12 checks which had been manipulated adding up to about $30,000.00. For nearly ten months this had been going on, my co-worker leading a double life, smiling and being the best of friends with us, while stealing thousands and thousands of dollars right from under our noses. Wow!

The following Monday she was taken away in handcuffs and we thought that justice would be served. But, boy were we wrong!  She was released from our local jail within six hours and a few days after that she wrote to the President of our company pleading forgiveness. She was desperate and needed the money (for more designer shoes and jewelry perhaps?). She would pay back all of the money (by this time $94,000) as soon as possible. Thank God he declined her offer and did not drop the charges.

All of us in the office were in shock. My boss, understandably suddenly trusted no one, locking her door behind her, even to go to the restroom. 

We all thought that our justice system would kick in and that our embezzling co-worker would receive a harsh sentence, several years in prison along with restitution. But that's not quite how it worked out.  

After about a year, the case went to trial. She received a whopping three months in prison and was 'forced' to pay back $25.00 a month.  Really? They say that crime doesn't pay, but unfortunately, some times it does. In looking into embezzling cases further, especially in California, there is a huge flaw in our justice system when it comes to white collar crime.

I continued working at that company until it was sold at the end of 2014.  

Below are a few tips that I’d like to offer. If you know someone who owns a business, please pass this list on to them. It may help them save a little money and a lot of heartache.

·         If you use a signature stamp for your checks, keep it locked in a safe.  If you sign your own checks, don’t use a lazy or simple signature style.  Make it difficult for others to forge.  And, you may want to require two signatures for larger amounts.

·      Check your bank statements every month. Look at each check closely to make sure that you know who the vendor is. My co-worker even paid her utility bills (Dept. of Water & Power) using company checks, so look CLOSELY. It may not be easy to detect.

·         Use less checks and more auto-pay options. But, if so, make sure that you know which companies are signed up – and check those statements monthly as well.

·      Don’t allow your accounting employees to come in at odd hours (early morning or late night) unattended.  Don’t give them an opportunity to have the office to themself.

·         If you have security cameras, take the time to review them weekly if not daily.  You have a right to know what’s going on in your office, your store or home.

·         Communicate with your employees.  Are they having financial difficulties?  (My co-worker was about to declare bankruptcy and instead she opted for embezzling.)

·      Don’t underpay your employees, or flaunt your own personal wealth - or give your employees reasons to become resentful of you. This may cause them to feel justified in stealing from you. This is how the mind of an embezzler works… THEY are the victim. THEY deserve to have what you have. THEY want their fair share, etc.

·         Try to avoid a rapid turnover of employees. This will increase the odds of a bad seed taking root in your office or company.

·       Establish long term relationships whenever possible with your employees. The more that you know about your employees, the less likely you will become a victim of embezzlement. (At the same time, be aware that people can sometimes live double lives, fooling you into thinking that they are to be trusted... Sadly, this is not always the case.)

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I never asked the question again, "Why am I here?"  I know exactly why I was there.  It was to help catch an embezzler.  Hopefully she has learned her lesson despite the light sentence she was given.  I myself believe in a higher law. And I believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. I also believe that we are where we are for a reason.  Whether it's a job or a relationship, there is always something to learn about yourself and others.  And when the time is right to move on, it will present itself to you. And then you might even look back, like me, and say, "Oh, now I get it!"