# Someone up the corporate chain embezzled related to my work, and I am verklempt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 30, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196 "2004-12-30T02:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/21 "2005-01-12T01:48:25Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > And they tell me stories about how terrible things were before I was hired, and they tell me how much confidence they have that I can make anything work. While it is a wonderful thing for my ego, there are a few other people doing comparable work who make 20-30% more than I do – mostly because they have technical degrees of one kind or another, and I have a liberal arts degree. Tell these people that, while you appreciate their praise it would serve you better if they communicate their feelings up the ladder because you will soon be asking for a raise and think that you will have to leave if it is not forthcoming. Sometimes the rumour can do the negotiating for you. > [@Boyo Jim](#): > > Every single person in the department (12 of them) has personally gone to the boss and asked for her to be dismissed, but the boss tries to act like all we need to do is put stricter policies and procedures in place, and things will get better. But the result is that the rest of us feel punished by stricter work rules, why the Evil One coasts along, behavior unchanged. Reminds me of one of the funniest guys I ever worked with. He was only young but had a different perspective on everything. One day (before ubiquitous PCs) management left a note on everyone’s desk warning them about attempts to rort the time clocks. Jeff said to me “Isn’t this note the dumbest thing you’ve ever seen?” I asked why and he explained, “Most people here are doing the right thing and this memo is just an insult to them and the people like me who are doing the wrong thing don’t give a shit.” And into the bin it went. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/22 "2005-01-12T05:43:48Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > One is that my responsibilities have vastly increased, but my pay hasn’t. I am the only non-IS person in the hospital to administer a company-wide computer system, and I manage two of them. Well, since we now know that the money that should have given you a pay increase was going into the pockets of the embezzler and her husband, you should be seeing a raise soon, right? After all, if she wrote the budget for two people so she could steal part of it, and now she’s not stealing it anymore, and everyone knows that you were doing all that work by yourself, then it stands to reason you should get the extra. Right? See, I told you I am naive! ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/23 "2005-01-12T06:14:47Z")
**Boyo Jim** , I would say, from your description, that not only should you not leave your job, you should be requesting an immediate 10 - 15% raise (or more if you have really big stones.) Not only have you been doing alone what they were paying two for, they wish to avoid publicity concerning the embezzlement (and you know where the bodies are buried.) Also, without you, they would have to employ a technical degree type to do your job at 20-30% more. I’m in complete agreement with **don’t ask**. Since you’re already giving serious thought to moving on, let it be known. At worst, you’ll have to look for a new job, and at best you’ll get a better paycheck and validation that your skills and talents are appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/24 "2005-01-12T14:18:03Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > management left a note on everyone’s desk warning them about attempts to rort the time clocks Ahhh, what exactly does it mean to “rort” a time clock? Not familiar with the term, and I’m imagining all kinds of dirty things… ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/25 "2005-01-12T15:45:40Z")
I dated someone who was fired from two different jobs because she was caught embezzling company funds both times (our relationship may be worth its own little thread someday). Each time she was allowed to walk because investigation into the company’s practices would have uncovered yet more hanky-panky higher up. I can’t believe she was savvy enough to pick and choose who she was going to embezzle; I think there’s just a crap load of shady accounting practices going on out there, especially in private companies. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/26 "2005-01-12T17:32:57Z")
In private companies, that may continue. But Sarbanes-Oxley should shut down a LOT of that in other companies. I know my company is going through hell trying to comply with all the requirements, though I don’t believe for a minute we have anything shady going on. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/27 "2005-01-12T22:13:21Z")
I too am naive about this kind of thing, as I hadn’t mentally connected my knowledge about the embezzlement to my own salary “demands” until a good friend suggested ut. He said I should talkI should talk to my boss and offer “only the merest hint of the taste of extortion” in my conversation. I haven’t figured out how to do this. I had my annual performance review with my boss only a month or so back, before this other stuff came up. We discussed salary, and I told her flat out that she needed to put a raise for me back on her front burner. More than a year ago she came up to me and volunteered that she was re-writing my job description in order to get me a “substantial” raise, and then I heard nothing more. In our recent conversation she told me that, according to HR, I’m pretty much at the top of the hourly scale for administrative people, and a reclass would result in converting my job to a salaried one. That would cost me all that nice overtime pay I’ve been earning, pretty much wiping out any financial advantage, and then “they” would work me even more since it wouldn’t cost any more to do so. I wish I was swifter at responding, but I tend to have to think about anything but flip answers. I’ve since realized that “they” is the embessler who’s now been fired – either her or my boss herself. The embezzler might have had a vested interest in not promoting me – after all, why promote someone whose work is so inadequate that she has to hire a high-priced backstop for these special events. But that makes very little sense – one reason her scheme worked is that the bean counters who cut her checks for the bogus services are at another location, and don’t see that I’m here and the “consultant” is never here. OTOH, the HR people _are_ here and know me, and I doubt that they would have raised any red flags about a re-class. I found out just today that the same consultant was brought in to write the job description that I was ultimately hired for, and brought in yet again to review the application and resume I submitted 3 years ago. According to my boss, he told her at the time, “If this guy is what he says he is, you won’t need me any more.” ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/28 "2005-01-12T23:20:09Z")
we had a similar situation at my company… director was overpaying a contractor and getting kickbacks… to the tune of seven figures. When it blew, he was fired, the contractor was fired, both going to jail. But in addition, as a swift and decisive ‘this will not be tolerated’ statement, the heads of EVERY department were fired. THe official line was that they were the management team and this happened on their watch, so they should have noticed a missing million. HarsH? Yes, but I was glad to see it happen. Just a little encouragement that not EVERY corporation is entirely corrupt and will turn the other way in a situation like this. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/29 "2005-01-13T00:19:18Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > I am really pissed that they’ve decided not to conest her leaving, and don’t call the cops. But I have mixed feelings, as her paper trail indirectly points to my incompetence as the justification for the continued necessary services of her consultant husband, and I suspect that I would be a witness in any criminal trial, which would not be a happy thing. Hey, wow! I remember your original thread! As for the above, we had a similar case where I used to work. The reason they didn’t call the cops was because they worked out an agreement (with lawyers invovled) for the schmuck to pay back what it was estimated he had “earned/ripped-off” through his scheme. In our company’s case, we had a distributor program, but certain types of businesses could buy direct at the regular price. Our sales guy set up his own company and when people called to order direct, he’d say “Oh, no you have to call one of our distributors. Call MyThievingCompany.” Then we’d get the order from MyThievingCompany (who we’d charge distributor rates) and he’d charge the regular price and keep the difference. Or something to that effect, I’m not quite sure. So there _was_ enough of a paper trail, that our company was able to roughly estimate how much was lost to MyThievingCompany. They think the estimate was low, but lawyers agreed they could at least recoup some of it from him if he went on a payment plan. So it may be that the hospital is quietly doing something similar. Hopefully. If there’s proof that she was paying her husband, than they at least have a rough idea of how much was paid to him. So they may have sorted out some deal whereby if she discreetly started paying them back, they wouldn’t press charges. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196/30 "2005-01-13T00:40:58Z")
> [@FlippyFly](#): > > we had a similar situation at my company… director was overpaying a contractor and getting kickbacks… to the tune of seven figures. When it blew, he was fired, the contractor was fired, both going to jail. > > But in addition, as a swift and decisive ‘this will not be tolerated’ statement, the heads of EVERY department were fired. THe official line was that they were the management team and this happened on their watch, so they should have noticed a missing million. > > HarsH? Yes, but I was glad to see it happen. > > Just a little encouragement that not EVERY corporation is entirely corrupt and will turn the other way in a situation like this. Wow. I’ve never heard of such a thing. And it sucks that I’m shocked and awed that a company would even do something so righteous. I’ve just worked for/read about so many companies where **Boyo’s** situation was SOP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-up-the-corporate-chain-embezzled-related-to-my-work-and-i-am-verklempt/282196.md?page=1)