Bookkeeper Who Was ‘Like Family’ Must Pay $1.4M After Embezzlement Accusations

A Texas bookkeeper has been ordered to pay her former employers $1.4 million, after a civil court judge determined she embezzled almost $380,000. The judge also awarded the employers $1 million in punitive damages.

Monica Marie Padilla is accused of stealing nearly $380,000 from the Superior Fence Co of San Antonio during just nine months of employment. She also allegedly stole almost $200,000 from her next employer, though criminal charges have yet to be filed. Padilla has managed to avoid any significant jail time so far, according to the San Antonio Express-News, and she denies all allegations.

Amber Gilbert owns Superior Fence with her husband, Robert Gilbert. She testified that Padilla falsely claimed she was a certified public accountant when she was hired on as a bookkeeper. As part of that role, she managed payroll, paid bills, and reconciled the company’s books. According to Superior Fence’s lawsuit, she also had access to company bank and credit card accounts, along with the Gilberts’ personal financial information. Padilla’s scheme allegedly hinged on the creation of a new online account in order to pay vendors and other bills – but which she actually used to send money to herself. The Gilberts discovered the fraud when Padilla went on vacation, and vendors complained about not receiving payments.

“I really saw her as a friend,” Amber Gilbert testified. “She worked very hard to gain our trust. She was very kind to my son. We all loved her. She was like family.”

While the Gilberts have contacted the police about the alleged thefts, they said the San Antonio Police told them they’re so backed up with work, it would be nine months until they would have time to start investigating. Padilla has pleaded guilty to forgery and property theft in the past.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. In Indiana, a bookkeeper is now facing federal charges after being accused of stealing more than $1 million from her employer, in a scheme involving fraudulent payments through payroll processing and Square. In Florida, another bookkeeper was recently arrested for allegedly stealing $727,000 of company money, giving herself lavish bonuses and making personal purchases on the company credit card. And in Connecticut, an accountant was arrested not once, not twice – but three times – within just a few months, for allegedly stealing from multiple clients.

Saving Thousands At A Cost Of Millions – The High Price Of Cutting Corners

According to a new report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, background checks on potential employees can help prevent situations like this – however, 43% of businesses that experienced fraud said they didn’t conduct any kind of background checks on the perpetrator prior to hiring them. This study tracked 1,921 cases of occupational fraud around the world, which totaled $3.1 billion in losses. They found that asset misappropriation schemes were the most common kind of fraud, with a median loss of $120,000. A typical fraud case lasts 12 months before being detected – which can mean financial disaster for many growing businesses. This report also discovered that more than half of occupational frauds occur due to a lack of internal controls or an override of existing controls.

While the idea of hiring a single bookkeeper can be attractive, it can also be risky – and in the case of the Gilberts, extremely costly – if your business doesn’t have the time, knowledge, or resources to perform due diligence in the hiring process. When you work with a fractional accounting team like kept.pro, you will have the peace of mind of knowing that every bookkeeper and accountant we work with has been carefully vetted and gone through an extensive background check. More importantly, you will get a fractional team with a built-in segregation of duties. The fundamental idea of separating certain types of accounting tasks is to prevent fraud by working to ensure that no one person can abuse the system on their own. For example, the person approving new vendors should not be the same person entering payment, approving payment and releasing payment. In addition to the fraud mitigation benefits of a fractional team, you also get the value of the combined skills and expertise of our team members, versus just one person’s experience.

To learn more about fraud mitigation, in addition to our fractional accounting team’s other key services including A/R, A/P, payroll administration, monthly-end close, financial reporting, and more, book a free call with a kept.pro expert today.