Embezzlement
requires that the
money stolen must
have come into
the offender’s
possession due
to the relation-ship
of trust, and
the offender must
have intentionally
and fraudulently
stolen the money
or property.
The overriding feeling among the three attorneys
of a small, close-knit firm was disbelief — along
with embarrassment, anger and disgust. Their busi-ness
was victimized by a secretary who surrepti-tiously
stole more than $82,000. It was a betrayal
they never saw coming.
“She was a good secretary,” one attorney says.
“She was in charge of balancing all the checkbooks.
She was the daughter of a local preacher. We trusted
her. She had been here about five years when this
was discovered.”
The embezzlement began with tiny increments
that added up over time.
“It started with small amounts of money,” says
the attorney, who asked not to be identified. “She
would write a check to herself, disguised as a pay-check
with an odd amount of money, but several
hundred dollars for a week’s pay.”
This systematic stealing went on for about 18
months before the firm noticed something was
amiss. One partner was reviewing the books and
noted a low balance. Business was good and there
had been no extraordinary expenses, so the firm
examined the records.
“We noticed many deductions for several hun-dred
dollars, but when we looked for the canceled
checks in the statements for those suspicious
amounts, no checks were there,” the attorney says.
“She had pulled all the unauthorized ones and left
all the legitimate ones. The check numbers for the
fraudulent checks were not in sync with the
numbers for the legitimate checks. She had
taken checks from our supply to be used in
the future so we would not discover miss-ing
checks in the normal sequence.”
Three secretaries had access to the
books. The firm couldn’t be sure which
one was guilty, but they narrowed their focus to one
who confirmed their suspicions when she caught
wind of the investigation.
“After lunch, she simply did not return to work,”
the attorney states. “We then knew it was her.”
Although she attempted to flee, the culprit was
located, arrested, prosecuted and sent to prison for
a year.
“She really could not say where the money went.
There were no new cars, assets, drug problems, etc.
The church, ironically, got much of the money in
my opinion and much was squandered,” the attor-ney
says.
The offender has paid about $40,000 of the loss
back on a regular monthly ordered basis. Also soft-ening
the blow, an employee fidelity bond paid out
$10,000 to the firm.
Embezzlement, a form of fraud, defines the basest
betrayal. It occurs when an employee entrusted with
the employer’s finances uses that trust to betray and
steal from the company.
“White-collar crime concerns nonviolent, finan-cially
motivated crimes committed by individuals,
companies or government officials,” says Patrick
M. Mincey, partner with Cranfill Sumner &
Hartzog LLP and head of the firm’s White Collar &
Criminal Defense Group. “Typically, these are acts
based in fraudulent activity where deceit is used to
obtain money, benefits or other services. Broadly
speaking, fraud such as embezzlement can occur
wherever there is an employee in a position to take
money from the business.”
Establishments that lack levels of oversight, like
the small law firm, are often the ones that fall vic-tim
to embezzlement.
“Most white-collar crimes, such as embezzlement,
occur in small businesses of under 30 employees,”
says Janet R. Coleman, assistant district attorney
for New Hanover County. “They are typically
anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over
$25,000. They are always charged as felonies.”
Conviction for taking more than
$100,000 carries a mandatory active
prison sentence, “even without any
prior criminal history,” Coleman says.
Embezzlement can be simple or
complex.
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