Most people know of embezzlement to be carried out in an employer/employee setting. While they fall among the most common embezzlement cases, they are not the only ones. There are many ways in which embezzlement occurs. The crime can take place in any setting where one person has put their trust in another to watch over their property.
An accusation of embezzlement can result in severe punishments, from repayment of the entire amount stolen to years of imprisonment. If you are trying to fight your embezzlement charges, there is no better than a Geneva criminal attorney to help you clear your name.
Common ways in which embezzlement occurs
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Siphoning.
This type of embezzlement is committed by people who work front-line jobs in stores or restaurants. They steal money straight from the register without creating differences between what the computer shows and what is in the cash register.
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Misuse of payroll.
Payroll is the process in which a company pays its employees. Payroll scams involve directly transferring money from the company’s account into their bank accounts for personal use without informing their employer. This is usually done by a person who has been appointed the job of handling the payrolls.
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Forging checks.
Forging checks is one of the common ways of check fraud in Geneva. There are various types. In some cases, the person creates a fake cheque with a fake sign that looks exactly like a genuine one. In others, they use a genuine check but forge someone else’s signature. In some other cases, a reality check is signed by the genuine person but then altered by the fraudster.
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Overtime.
This type of embezzlement involves altering the overtime records. An hourly-paid employee in a local office of a bank can do this. They may punch the timecard at the beginning of their shifts and then leave, say, around 6 hours later without punching the card out. After 3 hours, they may come back to their workplace with the excuse that they have forgotten their wallet and then secretly punches the card out. Here, the employee only worked 6 hours, but the records will show three additional hours. Therefore, they get more money than they worked for.
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Cashing customer checks.
In this type of embezzlement, the employee cashes the customer checks instead of giving or transferring them to their employer. Sometimes, the embezzler even creates a bank account similar to the business’s to receive electronic payments from customers.
If you were involved in one of these forms of embezzlement, you might have serious legal problems. Seek legal help from an expert to discover your options.
