Not very bright business criminals

[mscriv]

Paid for Not Showing Up
Anthony Armatys is facing up to six years in prison for his dumb move. But he's not the only dummy in this story.

Armatys accepted a job in 2002 with telecom equipment maker Avaya but then changed his mind before he started. He was already in the payroll system however, and the company started depositing his six-figure salary into his checking account.

For five years, Armatys did not notify Avaya of its error, but his attempt to make an early withdrawal from his 401(k) prompted an investigation that led to his arrest.

In October Armatys pleaded guilty to theft and was ordered to repay the $470,995.53 in compensation he received. He faces full sentencing in January.

Trying for a $15 Trillion Tax Refund

Between Wall Street bailouts, auto bailouts and all the stimulus programs, Uncle Sam sure seems to be doling out the dollars these days.

But $15 trillion for one guy? That's what Marlon Moore tried to get by filing a series of false tax returns under different aliases to the tune of $5.959 trillion, $2.975 trillion, and $6 trillion. And just for good measure, he filed one under his own name for $10 million.

The problem, among many others, is that the U.S. government only took in some $2 trillion in 2008. This fall, Moore was convicted of trying to bilk Uncle Sam and sentenced in Miami to two years in prison.

Seriously, I don't know how some people think they will get away with this stuff.

LINK

 

[Gregg2]

Well, Bernie Madoff had a great run. So he gets to spend the rest of his life incarcerated. Did anyone ask him if he thought it was worth it?

 

[MacVixen]

So for the telecommunications company - I'd love an explanation as to how they managed to pay this guy a salary for over 5 years with nobody catching on. No timecards I presume, but dang - financial/personnel reports for a manager to review? Nobody ever said "Who the hell is this? And why are we paying him a 6-figure salary?!"

 

[Queso]

So for the telecommunications company - I'd love an explanation as to how they managed to pay this guy a salary for over 5 years with nobody catching on.

Some very successful companies I've done work have made the same mistake, often multiple times. There is one in particular I audited where people had left and years later their system accounts and security passes to the campus were still active. One or two of the leavers were also continuing to receive salary and pension contributions, just because everybody assumed someone else would tell Accounts they'd gone

 

[heehee]

So for the telecommunications company - I'd love an explanation as to how they managed to pay this guy a salary for over 5 years with nobody catching on. No timecards I presume, but dang - financial/personnel reports for a manager to review? Nobody ever said "Who the hell is this? And why are we paying him a 6-figure salary?!"

I know it's not an excuse, but it's hard to keep track 20,000 employees. Their revenue was $5 Billion in 2006, they are not exactly counting pennies.