Oh No! Another Employee Theft

Employee theft is one of those things that goes on day after day.  The only times most employers pay any attention to internal theft is when it either 1) happens to them; or 2) makes the newspaper.  When an employee theft is big enough to make the news, it means that some employer placed his trust in the wrong employee.

Very recently, according to various news reports out of Jacksonville, a long time Northeast Florida medical center employee was arrested and charged in the theft of over $200,000 as a result of an internal audit.  The woman had worked in the accounts payable department since the mid ‘80’s.

Also in the news, a business manager stole more than $115,000, from a non-profit association in Maine in just over four years that she was employed.  Her MO was to forge the executive director’s signature on checks that she used to pay herself and her creditors, use an association credit card for personal purchases, and pay her own credit card bills with the association’s operating account.  The embezzlement wasn’t discovered until after the manager was fired for other reasons.

In both of these examples, it’s clear that the opportunity to steal went on far too long based on the amounts taken.  Internal theft is going to happen, that’s just a fact of life.  But smart companies put measures in place to reduce the chances that examples like these will be able to continue for any length of time without detection.

If you’re an employer, don’t think internal theft can’t happen to you.  Enterprising employees with a reason can always think of a way to get out with cash, property, or merchandise, believing that they can get away with it.

Take a look at the ways employee theft can happen at your workplace and work to eliminate the threat by increasing the likelihood of detection through the implementation of random and periodic audits by a corporate fraud investigator or a qualified loss prevention agent.

For a vulnerability assessment or to discuss a suspicion of employee theft, call 888-426-0547 or click here for more information.