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Anderson Business Advisors Podcast

How to Stop Employee Theft & Embezzlement in Your Business

Apr 17, 2025
29:23

In this episode, Toby Mathis, Esq., of Anderson Business Advisors, welcomes David Pelligrinelli, a professional asset recovery expert from ActiveIntel. They dive deep into the alarming reality of employee theft and embezzlement in businesses of all sizes. David explains the "fraud triangle" concept—opportunity, pressure, and justification—that enables employee theft, sharing real-world examples of trusted employees who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from their employers. They discuss essential prevention strategies like having owners open all financial mail, requiring employees to take vacations so others can review their work, and implementing proper checks and balances. The conversation reveals sophisticated theft techniques, including ghost vendor schemes and credit card fraud, while emphasizing that even trusted employees can succumb to temptation when proper controls aren't in place. David also shares fascinating stories about asset recovery investigations and explains how counter-investigation tactics can help those being investigated unfairly.

Highlights/Topics:
  • Introduction to employee theft and embezzlement as a common business problem
  • The "fraud triangle" concept: opportunity, pressure, and justification
  • Best practices for preventing employee theft (opening mail, mandatory vacations)
  • Ghost vendor schemes and sophisticated theft techniques
  • Long-term financial impact of embezzlement on business profitability
  • Examples of elaborate asset concealment by debtors
  • Employee dishonesty insurance coverage options
  • Counter-investigation tactics and illegal investigation methods
  • Share this with business owners you know

Resources:

Email: dave@activeintel.com

https://actualhuman.com/

https://riskcoverage.com/

https://telemediator.com/

https://www.activeintel.com/

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