After discovering embezzlement, have a strategy for obtaining restitution

Few things are as shocking to an employer as learning a trusted employee is embezzling. Often, the feeling of betrayal is as gut-wrenching as the discovery of the financial loss itself. The first instinct may be to call the police. But because embezzlement is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to prove, local law enforcement may be reluctant to investigate and prosecute. In addition, many employers don't want their customers or the business community to know. As a result, an employer may feel it has little chance of recovering its loss and satisfy itself with merely terminating the embezzling employee.

There is another option. An employer can set the stage for obtaining the embezzler's confession and agreement to make restitution. This strategy increases the potential to quickly recover at least some of the stolen money, while avoiding the significant costs, publicity, and effort required to prosecute or file a civil suit.

The initial investigation

Embezzlement takes many forms and is discovered in many ways. Sometimes, unraveling an embezzlement begins with nothing more than a hunch. Perhaps an employee is living beyond her means or is engaging in secretive behavior, such as refusing others access to certain records or work product. Other times, the crime is revealed through an audit or by simple happenstance.