Yesterday I posted an article about employee theft and background checks. Here is yet another in that series. As employee theft has been on the increase, running background checks is that much more important to filter out those more likely to steal from their employers. While you can never be certain, there is always a first time for everything.
In this case , according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, an executive for Koss Corp. allegedly embezzled $4.5 Million for his personal shopping junket. Now in the age of Bernie Madoff and the incidents of financial fraud where hundreds of millions and multiple billions are stolen as if the thieves were swiping chewing gum off the candy stand, $4.5 million may not seem like a lot of money. Yeah? Sure. Let’s face it, it is a very hefty chunk of change.
In this case, the executive allegedly used this very hefty chunk of change to improve his lifestyle. After all, she deserved it. She reportedly store the money to buy furs, a furniture, jewelery, of course, jewelry, and clothing. Hopefully, he even bought his dog a new doggy dish.
Suspicions grew, we are being polite here, when American Express reported to Koss that the significant credit card bills were being paid down with large money transfers. Hmmmm.
Now this was a person in a highly respectable position. This was know loading day worker who swiped a couple of crates of phony Pashminas off the loading dock. This woman had been with the company since 1962. She was the principal accounting officer and a senior finance executive. People trusted her.
So in this case, circumstances and a growing habit for the lush life may have led her down the slippery slope of thievery and fraud. She might have had a pristine background and nothing would have should up on her background checks. Nothing on her criminal record. No county civil records would reveal previous faux pas.
But what about the next time around? Sooner or later, or when she gets out of jail, this woman may start looking for work again. Someone will see her credentials, measure her skill sets, and consider hiring her. And this is where things can go wrong. Maybe not right away. Maybe never. But there is the possibility that lust for the lush life will grow inside her once again, and she will be your secret, silent partner, embezzling enough that you, the employer, will end up getting hurt.
So check them out before you hire. Run background checks. For the few bucks investment, you can save a lot of money, a lot of grief, and a lot of public embarrassment.
