If you own a company, you may have any number of valuable assets. If your company is large enough, you are likely in the position of having to trust some of your employees to safeguard those assets. Because of this fact, a trustworthy employee could also be considered a valued asset. However, an employee who betrays the faith they have been granted can be a genuine threat to a company’s financial well-being.
Keeping a precise record of financial transactions is a critical part of maintaining a business. It takes skill with numbers to keep books accurately. These same skills can be applied to moving money out of business coffers and into personal accounts. A company could experience a serious monetary loss if an employee decides to embezzle funds.
Recently in Texas, a man entered a guilty plea for identity theft and bank fraud. The man admitted to having stolen $400,000 while acting as a comptroller for a landscaping company. He carried out the theft by issuing checks to himself. He used a stamp to give the appearance of the checks having been approved by the owner.
According to an FBI investigation, the man used part of the money to purchase a pickup truck. The rest of the money is said to have been spent in strip clubs.
Businesses everywhere, including Florida, are vulnerable to suffering economic loss due to embezzlement. And while the kind of employee that would commit such an act is the exception, rather than the rule, it does happen.
You need the money you earn to keep your business going. When someone illicitly pockets your earnings, you could find yourself unable to meet your financial commitments. Therefore, if you discover that a trusted employee has stolen from your company, you may consider taking legal action.
A Florida attorney may be able to help you choose the most appropriate course of action to take given your specific circumstances.
Source: San Antonio Express News, “Embezzler spent most of $400,000 on strippers,” Guillermo Contreras, Nov. 19, 2014
