Boss doesn't notice $9.9 million missing from small business

[jsinger]

"former bookkeeper embezzled $9.9 million, forcing her company to make layoffs as she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet decorated with a crystal chandelier and a plasma television,"

[google.com...]

There's got to be more to this story than the press has reported. The woman wrote over 500 checks and no one noticed! Why didn't the small company run out of cash?

[jsinger]

"Criminal charges were brought after a credit card company [American Express] smelled something fishy when they noticed payments were being made with company checks."

And this photo of her shoe closet. Love the special lower shelving for boots and the "tasteful" pink chair nearby.

[anovelspot.files.wordpress.com...]

[thecoalman]

Talk about an obsession, what's with women and shoes? I have 4 pair, sneakers, casual wear, boots(actually 3 pair in varying degrees of wear lol) and dress shoes. I'd get rid of the dress shoes if I could, :P

[blend27]

9.9 million is a small bussiness? Pink Moon(shine) rates?

Here on Mars we would love to rent the property/be in the loop for half of that every millennium or so... but the 'smelled something ...ishy' always get in the way.

[lawman]

"Small" is relative [en.wikipedia.org]

[rocknbil]

I think her mentor was Imelda Marcos [time.com]. Link for those who have forgotten.

@thecoalman: yeah, it's a bit like the toilet seat controversy. :-) M/W just speak different languages . . . . I have "daily drivers" that I wear until my wife makes me buy a new pair, leather sandals for summer, and my muddin' boots.

[Essex_boy]

I remember reading a story similar to this about Barclays bank, years ago an account manager made dozens of small transactions on a company account.

Due to the size of the firm they werent noticed, she was only caught when she went on holiday and some one noticed all tehtransactions into her account.

[Lazlo]

Embezzling is easy.

What do you think the Bailout money is for ?

A massive shoe closet. Simply, not "ours".

[edited by: Lazlo at 5:27 pm (utc) on Mar. 22, 2009]

[jsinger]

Simple steps would have prevented this theft from this small company (this isn't Barclay's bank!):

1) Owner, and perhaps his wife, are the only ones with power to sign checks.

2) Owner gets all monthly bank statements and examines them.

3) Excess cash is moved from main checking account into CDs, money maket funds etc which only the owner has access to.

-----------
I've never understood why owners, even of larger businesses, delegate check signing.

[g1smd]

*** $9.9 million ... 400 pairs of shoes ***

Hmmm. Some $25 000 per pair. Expensive tastes!