Boston Business Journal - November 20, 2008

The Middlesex District Attorney’s office is warning small businesses to be on the lookout for employee theft and embezzlement as the economy shifts into low gear.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone met with business leaders in the Malden Chamber of Commerce Wednesday to offer suggestions of how businesses can protect themselves.

“Experience tells us that, especially in times of fiscal crisis, businesses are at risk to employee theft and embezzlement,” Leone said in a statement. “Often, it is employees who are placed in positions of trust who then abuse that access to take money for their own personal gain. That is why we urge businesses to implement a number of simple, cost-effective safeguards to better protect themselves from theft and embezzlement.”

The office has seen an uptick in the number of embezzlement cases recently, including a Malden city employee who allegedly issued false checks out of the city’s bank accounts and two Tufts University employees who allegedly stole nearly $1 million by using the college’s credit cards for personal use.

Leone said businesses can prevent theft by opening bank statements before the controller or office manager, requiring multiple signatures on large checks and have an independent audit performed regularly.

If a business owner does suspect theft, he or she should collect all documentation of the theft and then consider meeting with the person to get an explanation. If the owner wants to pursue criminal charges, he or she should go to the police in the city or town the crime took place with all of the documentation.