How Employees Have Been Caught Stealing from the Company That They Work For
It has been all too common about how employees have been caught stealing from the company that they work for. There may be a variety of reasons for doing so. It could be the employee feels the company may owe them something, there could be personal financial issues that the individual is dealing with, or maybe because they feel they are in a position to perform such an act and not get caught. Not all embezzlement cases involve an employee stealing money from a firm. There are some cases that involve employees having access to customers’ accounts in order to misappropriate funds to those accounts for a personal gain.
In February 2014, an employee at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino was arrested for allegedly placing unauthorized credits on patrons’ player cards. Jane (whose name has been changed) had worked for the casino for two years. She became employed initially as a Line Cook and then later on, she was hired to work in the Capital Club department in August 2013. This department is responsible for issuing player cards to patrons. These cards serve as a means for customers to earn and redeem points. The ways for a customer to earn points is through playing the slot machines or having points physically placed on their card by a Capital Club representative. The points serve as cash, so for example, 1 point equals $1. The more points you earn, the more money you have to play with.
During her employment with the department, Jane befriended two other patrons. They would come see her on a regular basis. This was not seen as an issue because each employee had their own customers that they have built a relationship with. There would be instances where Jane would load “credits” on the patrons’ cards as courtesy offerings, which was allowed by the department. However, there were some occasions where the patrons’ cards were reloaded numerous times on certain days, mainly the days that Jane was working. Each time the patrons’ cards received this “free money”, the patrons would give her money and gifts in return.
As months went by, the patrons would return to the department and they would bring along friends and family members so that they may receive free money as well. As time would go on, the Surveillance department at the casino started to notice a pattern. They kept a close eye on the group as they made their visits to the casino and watched closely at their interaction with Jane. The group would be seen on camera passing unknown objects to Jane as the transactions were taking place. They investigated the situation, along with the Division of Gaming Enforcement, and found out the employee had place unauthorized credits totaling over $30,000 on the suspects’ cards. All subjects involved were taken into custody and charged with theft. Of course, Jane was terminated from the company.
Employee theft has become an issue because here is an employee that has used her position to perform illegal acts for a personal