If you’ve been accused of embezzlement, it’s a bit different than theft. Your employer may allege that you misappropriated funds. You were given access to those funds or those those accounts on purpose, as an employee. But you used them for your own gain.
When facing such allegations, it’s important to know exactly what you’re being accused of and the specifics of the case. Let’s start by looking at three common examples of embezzlement that may apply.
1. Siphoning funds
Siphoning is when someone moves money out of an account and into their own. For instance, perhaps you were charged with collecting payments from clients. But rather than putting all of that money into the proper business accounts, you siphoned some money off the top for yourself.
2. Falsifying records
Embezzlement often involves falsifying records because people will try to cover up what they did. A person may be accused of siphoning half of a financial account into their personal bank account, for instance, and then changing the paperwork after the fact to try to hide the transaction.
3. Ghost employee fraud
One interesting type of embezzlement is known as ghost employee fraud. This is when someone makes up an employee who doesn’t actually exist. For example, maybe you’re the payroll administrator. Your employer accuses you of creating a fake employee and then sending that “person’s” paychecks to your own account.
These are just a few examples of how embezzlement may take place. These are very serious charges, with a potential impact on much more than just your career, so be sure you know about your legal options if you are facing them.
