Californian payroll clerk Frances Farias has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing more than US$100,000 from her employer, the Oakmont Management Group.
Farias, who pleaded guilty to grand theft, was previously convicted of embezzlement in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in 2010, and was sentenced to four and five years respectively, according to SF Gate.
She was hired in January 2014 in the human services department of the Oakmont Management Group. Here, Farias created fake employee profiles in the payroll system and used legitimate employees' names to set up direct deposits of 'salaries' into pre-paid debit card accounts in her name.
The fraud was only uncovered when Farias left the company in May 2016 and the new payroll clerk noticed the accounting irregularities, which triggered the investigation.
District attorney Jill Ravitch said: "This is yet another example of why companies need to impose internal audits and other controls to ensure that this type of theft cannot go unnoticed."
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
Californian payroll clerk Frances Farias has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing more than US$100,000 from her employer, the Oakmont Management Group.
Farias, who pleaded guilty to grand theft, was previously convicted of embezzlement in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in 2010, and was sentenced to four and five years respectively, according to SF Gate.
She was hired in January 2014 in the human services department of the Oakmont Management Group. Here, Farias created fake employee profiles in the payroll system and used legitimate employees' names to set up direct deposits of 'salaries' into pre-paid debit card accounts in her name.
The fraud was only uncovered when Farias left the company in May 2016 and the new payroll clerk noticed the accounting irregularities, which triggered the investigation.
District attorney Jill Ravitch said: "This is yet another example of why companies need to impose internal audits and other controls to ensure that this type of theft cannot go unnoticed."
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
