Former Controller Pled Guilty to Embezzling $1.4M; Judge Sentenced Her to Nearly 4 Years in Prison

A former controller of a St. Louis County real estate company pled guilty back in June for the embezzlement of $1.4M. She was sentenced on October 24th to 46 months in prison. According to court documents, the former controller transferred money from the company into her personal bank accounts more than 200 times during the period of April 2010 to November 2017. The money was used for personal gain. Click here to read more.

Prevent This From Happening to YOU!

Employee embezzlement can happen in any company because too often we don’t have the proper checks and balances in place. Here are some recommended tips to maintain controls that may help reduce the chances of embezzlement:

• For a better audit trail, consider separate accounts and separate employees for accounts payable and accounts receivable.
• Have someone independent of check-writing responsibilities reconcile your company bank accounts.
• Always provide dual approvals on wire and ACH transactions.
• This ensures more than one employee is reviewing them.
• Often times, the “trusted” employee is responsible for embezzling funds.
• They get forgotten about because they’ve been around the longest. Pay close attention to changes in their behavior including not taking time off, lifestyles well above their salary level, drug or alcohol abuse, etc.

Make Sure Your Clients Take a Proactive Approach To Protecting Their Business Should a Loss Occur

Make sure your clients have crime insurance. Take the steps to ensure that your clients are covered by calling one of the Berkley Crime team members listed below.