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Poll: What would you do? My dad's just found out the employee he's had for 20+ years has been embezzling from him.

Posted by ralph wiggum (aka Wiggum17) Dec 8 '13, 16:27

This woman has worked for him since she was 16 (she now late 30s/early 40s). She started doing his receptionist/bookkeeper role about 4 years ago. On a tip from another employee, he discovered that she's stolen over $50,000 from him in this year alone.

She is semi-recently divorced with kids. I'm not sure if the father is still in the picture. She doesn't make a huge salary, but she makes enough to live and he's always treated her like a daughter. In fact, he's known her since she was even younger because her mom used to work for him.

My dad is crushed by this betrayal but doesn't want to get the police involved. There is virtually no chance of getting any of the money back. He's going to fire her and tell her that if she leaves without trouble, he won't turn her in.

What would YOU do, ST? (FWIW, I also wouldn't go to the police, but I've also known her since she was little.)

Responses:

She's fired and she pays it back, or a phone call to the police.. -- nm - Ah-nold Dec 8, 17:59
The only advice I can add is to make sure he has the evidence to protect himself from any wrongful dismissal claim -- nm - Roger More Dec 8, 17:32 1
- I'm confident he has enough for that, especially in an "at will" state. I am concerned about making sure the tax thing doesn't bite him though. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 17:34
FWIW - my dad had a Secretery embezzle just under 10k - he didn't report, but did have her pay it back. Took a long time, but it was the right thing - JenBro Dec 8, 17:29
And make sure her replacement is bondable...and bonded! -- nm - Meg Dec 8, 16:59 1
- Although I guess claiming against a bond would require a police report :( -- nm - Meg Dec 8, 17:06
I'd do what he did, assuming she hasn't put him in any kind of dire straits, or potential trouble with the IRS. -- nm - mafic Dec 8, 16:50 11
- though I'd also ask her what happened to it all. -- nm - mafic Dec 8, 16:59 8
  - Just talked to him again--sounds like she's a big fan of the riverboat casinos. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 17:02 7
    - honestly, tough love might be the prescription here - Reagen Dec 8, 17:24 1
      - Yeah, once I hear of the possible gambling problem angle I starting thinking about it differently. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 17:28
    - Yeah, I call the police then. - Spawn Dec 8, 17:21
    - ah, well there you go. all gone then. -- nm - mafic Dec 8, 17:04
    - Ouch. so not much chance of getting the money back - amoxy Dec 8, 17:04 2
      - I've told him to speak to his lawyer and his accountant to get a better idea of what his options are. I don't know enough about criminal or tax law. - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 17:06 1
        
        that's the really crap scenario. he might be forced into turning her in to keep himself out of trouble. -- nm - mafic Dec 8, 17:09
- this is what I was getting at below. -- nm - mud Dec 8, 16:55
- good point, that might be unreported income for tax purposes. I think he should definitely seek legal advice -- nm - Beaker Dec 8, 16:52
How is he so sure he can't recover any of the money? She must have something to show for all that. - GregW Dec 8, 16:44
cops. If she would steal based on that backstory she will make up something else to get more or - Beaker Dec 8, 16:42
Yikes, I would go to the Police. Hate to ask the question, but how did he not notice it? -- nm - amoxy Dec 8, 16:39 1
- Well, he noticed that the economy was crappy. But he wouldn't have wanted to even think that she would do something like that. - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:45
if she gets a new job in about the same position thats just bad luck for the next guy? - DaneDukeNuuk Dec 8, 16:38 4
- That's the problem. A lot of employers today won't give references - they'll confirm the applicant worked for them but not why they left.... - Meg Dec 8, 16:43 3
  - my favourite one of these: an old employee gave my logistics manager as a reference without asking first. his response to the phone call: "we employed - mafic Dec 8, 16:52 1
    - "You would be really lucky if you could get him to work for you." nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 17:04
  - The big tip-off question is "is she eligible for rehire?" The answer to that tells everything, -- nm - Meg Dec 8, 16:48
I'm guessing this is a small business situation? This is always a risk with a small staff and minimal checks and balances. - Meg Dec 8, 16:38
sorry to hear this. make sure the bank knows she is no longer a signer of checks, etc. -- nm - peglegpete Dec 8, 16:34 1
- It wasn't a check thing. He's a dentist. People pay cash every day. She just didn't record it all, especially for new patients. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:36
I`d do the same as him, but I`m worried he could be in some jeopardy then -- nm - mud Dec 8, 16:31
What would be the legal ramifications if he did? -- nm - David Dec 8, 16:29 9
- If he went to the police? I'm pretty sure he's got enough evidence that she'd go to jail. He doesn't want that for her kids. - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:32 8
  - She's the one who put her kids into that position. -- nm - Max Dec 8, 16:47 1
    - Absolutely! Hammer those kids! They are probably like family to him as well as her. Easy to say from our perspective. -- nm - Bacon Dec 8, 16:53
  - I'm asking what kind of jail time she would be looking at: months, years or decades. -- nm - David Dec 8, 16:33 5
    - felony charge but not likely to serve that much time, first conv, non violent. Boss is lucky he's not bankrupt from it -- nm - ruddy the red nosed zeitgeist Dec 8, 16:36
    - Oh, I don't know that. Couple years, maybe? nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:35 3
      - Yeah, I couldn't do that to a mother. - David Dec 8, 16:36 2
        
        She is super fucking lucky that my dad is a soft touch. It's just such a monstrous betrayal, it really pisses me off. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:38 1
        
        And what about the next employer she betrays? - Trish, (-6 F below zero) Dec 8, 18:05
I would want an explanation, to know where the money went. That is a huge amount for one year for someone in her situation. -- nm - Spawn Dec 8, 16:29 6
- He hasn't even had a chance to check the books for the previous 3 years yet. It's probably even worse than that. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:30 5
  - Almost certainly. My heart truly goes out to him. -- nm - Bacon Dec 8, 16:31
  - Then why is there no chance of recovering money? -- nm - Spawn Dec 8, 16:31 3
    - I think she's probably blown through it. She's not going to have invested it in T-bills. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:33 2
      - [deleted]
      - She might have socked some of it away for the kids college, etc. -- nm - Spawn Dec 8, 16:52
Fired, no police. -- nm - Bacon Dec 8, 16:28
[deleted] 3
- Heh. I almost put "Hi, ML" in the IM. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:28 2
  - [deleted] 1
    - At least he doesn't have the problem of having an obligation to report it to the bar. It's not client money, it's his. nm - ralph wiggum Dec 8, 16:34

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Poll: What would you do? My dad's just found out the employee he's had for 20+ years has been embezzling from him.

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