
Ed and Georgia were extremely conservative business owners. Last year, they realized a long time dream. They expanded the square footage of their business, took on a couple of new projects and hired four new employees. But for some unknown reason, employee morale noticeably began to dwindle. Employees more frequently called in sick. Some actually […]

If you know people who shred documents with a cross-cut blade shredder while they watch TV – you might want to follow their lead. Those intelligent friends know that identity theft is America’s No. 1 crime among white collar criminals. In fact, nine million Americans fall victim every year to identity theft. That is a […]

Theft in the workplace can take many forms and every department is vulnerable. Like many company owners, Ed felt the crunch of the economy. He tried not to get to the point of lay-offs. But eventually, that choice was inevitable. Some guys in production lost their jobs, others lost hours. In fact, within a few […]

Lifelong friends Jeff and Chris came to visit the other day. Jeff is a local business owner who built a successful real estate management company and Chris is his attorney. It was Chris who scheduled the meeting. Jeff really didn’t think it was necessary, but because he trusted Chris, he came along. The thing is […]

Employee embezzlement is a major problem, especially for small businesses. I recently read an article by Todd Frankel of the St. Louis Dispatch, “Wave of embezzlement cases hits St. Louis region.” Case after case spoke of employees: Getting reimbursements in “office expenses” Improperly documenting vehicle impound fees and pocketing the money Creating fraudulent invoices and […]

Theft by employees is rampant – just ask any business owner or CEO. And when you start talking about employee embezzlement, the impact can be catastrophic to some businesses, especially small businesses, for several reasons: Loss of assets – an employee stealing from a company can take anything from supplies and materials to money away […]

In order to protect their client list and trade secrets, many businesses formalize confidentiality and non-compete agreements with employees. Client data protection is also an element of the privacy organization strive to maintain. But sometimes employees or contractors see those agreements only as valuable as the sheet of paper they are written on and ignore […]

When an employer is faced with employee embezzlement, you might think that they just fire the person, or call the police and the insurance company. At the minimum, they call the insurance company if they have an employee fidelity policy. What you might not realize is that the insurance company might require proof that funds […]

Theft by employees is a problem for more than retail or restaurant businesses. It is a problem in the office, too. I am talking about more than office supplies and materials here. I am talking about the theft of ideas, processes, client lists and confidential corporate operations. This could include employee embezzlement through accounting or […]