Employee Errors, Fraud to Top $115 Bil in 2009

London—Retailers may want to watch their employees a little more closely in 2009. Datamonitor predicts global retail shrinkage will climb to almost $115 billion by the end of 2009 due to loss incurred through cashier error, theft and fraudulent point of sale (POS) transactions.

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County employee arrested

From the Dadeville Record, Alabama

Attorney General Troy King’s office announced Monday the arrest of a Tallapoosa County maintenance department employee for felony charges of ethics law violation and first-degree theft.

Michael A. Lucas, 50 of Alexander City, surrendered at the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s office and was released on a $30,000 bond.

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Utility Company Bookkeeper Faces Embezzlement Charges

BOSCAWEN, N.H. -- A bookkeeper for a small New Hampshire utility company is accused of stealing thousands of dollars.The Attorney General's office says Cheryl Saltmarsh embezzled funds from the Penacook-Boscawen Water Precinct over a two-year period.

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Small Businesses Lose $200K to Fraud, Survey Reports

The Insurance Journal reports that a recent survey finds that the average fraud loss for businesses under 100 employees tops $200,000.

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53-year-old wanted in theft at Pheasant Run

WHEATON -- An arrest warrant has been issued for an Aurora woman accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from Pheasant Run Resort.

A former employee of the resort in St. Charles, Cynthia L. Hutchison, 53, of 755 Edgelawn Drive, has been charged with one felony count of theft exceeding $100,000 but less than $500,000, according to court records.

A DuPage County grand jury returned the one-count indictment late last week.

The alleged thefts occurred between September 2002 and March 2007, court records indicate.

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Embezzlement Suspect Under Suicide Watch

HOUSTON (AP) -- A Harris County judge has set bond at $1 million for an accounting clerk accused of stealing $6 million from her employer. The bond for Marcia Sinclair was originally set at $12 million.

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Adventure Island Worker Charged With Stealing $113,000

TAMPA - An Adventure Island manager has embezzled more than $113,000 from the company since May 2007, police say.

Officers arrested Stephen Andrew Boucher, 28, at 4 p.m. Sunday.

On Sunday, a detective working in an extra-duty capacity was told that Boucher was stealing money from register tills. The detective worked with Busch Gardens' loss prevention investigators, using security video to watch Boucher.

While Boucher was being watched, he stole $1,500 from three different registers, a police report states.

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