eDiscipline.org

Case Study Narrative: Employee Embezzlement

Date Posted: 2010-07-26 11:35:15

A student in a local primary school was stealing pencils from other students.

The teacher being annoyed at this after many attempts to correct the students behaviour, called the father of the child. The following dialog took place in the teachers office:

Teacher: "Your child is stealing other children's pencils and I have tried to tell him this is wrong, but he does not seem to comprehend."

Father: "I find this hard to believe. I do not see any reason why my child would steal pencils from the other kids, I bring him enough pencils from my office."

Embezzlement is defined as the "misappropriation or misapplication of money or property entrusted to one's care, custody, or control." The distinction between embezzlement and other types of theft is the loss of financial trust between an owner of money or property and an offender.

Theft by employees is a prevalent and costly problem faced by businesses today in both the private and public sector. Employee embezzlement includes, but is not limited to, "the removal of products, supplies, materials, funds, data, information, or intellectual property."