A Rose By Any Other Name: The Necessity Of Background Checks

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dwayne McSwain PhD, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: Rose Smith was a divorced soccer mom who worked as a decently paid vault teller at one of the regional banks in a small town in the foothills of North Carolina. She was employed by the bank for several years and liked by everyone because of her winning personality and her ability to be a team player at work whenever she was needed, even though she was a full-time working mother with three grade school children. Unfortunately, her like-ability was the main reason why no one suspected that she was slowly "borrowing'' from the bags of money she handled in the vault. The bank managers and other employees were simply shocked to find that the total amount she had pilfered reached nearly $50,000 over a two-year period. She was subsequently investigated by the FBI and eventually charged with embezzlement. Because of a backlog of cases in the district court system and appeals from her lawyer, she was not scheduled to face trial for somewhere between six and seven months. By and large, when someone is accused of embezzling large amounts of money like this from a financial institution, one would think that the scandal and humiliation would follow that person around, making it somewhat difficult to find new employment, particularly in an occupation that involves the handling of money. Guess what - think again!

Additional Information

Publication
Marden, R. and McSwain, D. (2010). A Rose By Any Other Name: The Necessity of Background Checks. Internal Auditing, March/April 2010. Vol. 25, No. 2, 10-15. NC Docks permission to re-print granted by author(s).
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
employer background checks, embezzlement, internal audit, bank fraud

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