Embezzlement Protection Requires Vigilance
By Dr. David S. Alberts
Story updated: Friday, May 11, 2007 10:51 AM EDT
CHARLEVOIX — For about the past 35 years Charlevoix resident John
Taylor has had a Memorial Day tradition with his father and brother: Spend
the weekend in Indianapolis attending all the events surrounding that city’s
premier auto racing event.
But the 2005 event will likely stick out from all the others in Taylor’s memory
because it was during that trip that he received word that his business back
home, Northern Preferred Title Company, was headed for the pits thanks to a
sticky-fingered employee.
He’s not alone.
Although the Northern Preferred case might be the most notorious of its kind
in recent history in the area because of the high dollar amount and impact on
the business, it is far from the only such case in recent months. For example:
* In August 2005, a former Boyne City school employee was sentenced to
six months in federal prison for stealing from the school’s food service pro-
gram. She was ultimately ordered to pay about $56,000 in restitution.
* In December, a former Northern Michigan Hospital finance department
employee was sentenced to serve seven months in jail after she pleaded guilty to charges stemming from embezzling more than $43,000 from the hospital.
* In April, a former employee of the PhoneGuide (which is a sister publica-
tion to the News-Review) was sentenced to serve four months in jail after she
pleaded guilty to charges in connection with embezzling about $43,000 from
the phone directory business.
Prosecutors and police and can point to dozens of other similar cases that have come down the pike in the past several years.
On the increase?
Although embezzlement cases may seem to be grabbing more headlines in
recent years, local, state and federal crime statistics show the rate of arrests has remained fairly level over the past 10 years.
What is going up, authorities say, is the dollar amounts involved in the cases.
In fact, the state Legislature, recognizing that trend, in December passed a law
increasing the penalties for certain such crimes.
Under the old law, the most serious embezzlement offense involved amounts
in excess of $20,000. That crime carried a maximum penalty of up to 10 years
in prison.
The new law, which took effect on March 30, created two more tiers of punish-ment. Now embezzled amounts from $20,000-$50,000 are punishable by up
to 10 years in prison; $50,000-$100,000 carries a 15-year maximum and more
than $100,000 carries a 20-year maximum.
The new law allows for harsher sentences if the victim was a charity, non-
profit organization, person over 60 or “vulnerable adult.” Next Page >>
Dr. David S. Alberts
About the Writer
Dr. David S. Alberts is both Deputy Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies and the Director of Advanced Concepts, Technologies, and Information Strategies (ACTIS) at the National Defense University, which includes responsibility for the School of Information Warfare and Strategy and the Center for Advanced Concepts and Technology. He also serves as the executive agent for the Department of Defense's Command and Control Research Program.