Ambitious Payroll Manager
The Ambitious Payroll Manager
Ardyth Power
Kaplan University
Fraud Examination, AC555
Professor Jacquelyne Lewis, Ph. D.
May 6, 2012 In this case, Dena Brenner used payroll schemes to be successful of committing fraud against International Agricultural Seed (IAS). Dena used a former employee, by reactivating this employee in the company’s payroll system and changing the account number to direct the payroll funds to go to. The bank account number she used was her own bank account and once the funds arrived she deactivated the employee in the company’s payroll system. According to our textbook on page 156, the employee that she used was a ghost employee, “referring to someone on the payroll who does not actually work for the victim company.” The suspicion came when Klaus Dieter, the treasurer, of IAS; when he noticed a difference of $700,000 for the company’s payroll that is processed every two weeks. This created Klaus to contact Dena to find out why the large difference and Dena could not give a definite answer, only that it was a bank error. This was not acceptable to Klaus, which caused him to do his own investigation as to why there was a bank error. After finding out the information through other channels it was found out the error was not really a bank error, but that Dena was having payroll deposited into her personal bank account. Once International Agricultural Seed completed their investigation, they were able to find not only the 1.2 million that Dena stole from them, but another $500,000 that consisted of property bought by Dena in Michigan. Dena’s life after this fraud and charges that was brought up by the company caused her to lose her children and her husband divorced her. Her husband, Ron, took the kids and moved back to Ohio after the home they were living in was taken away from them. Dena ended up getting sentenced to 15 years in prison. The recommendations that were given to IAS after this incident were to have
Ardyth Power
Kaplan University
Fraud Examination, AC555
Professor Jacquelyne Lewis, Ph. D.
May 6, 2012 In this case, Dena Brenner used payroll schemes to be successful of committing fraud against International Agricultural Seed (IAS). Dena used a former employee, by reactivating this employee in the company’s payroll system and changing the account number to direct the payroll funds to go to. The bank account number she used was her own bank account and once the funds arrived she deactivated the employee in the company’s payroll system. According to our textbook on page 156, the employee that she used was a ghost employee, “referring to someone on the payroll who does not actually work for the victim company.” The suspicion came when Klaus Dieter, the treasurer, of IAS; when he noticed a difference of $700,000 for the company’s payroll that is processed every two weeks. This created Klaus to contact Dena to find out why the large difference and Dena could not give a definite answer, only that it was a bank error. This was not acceptable to Klaus, which caused him to do his own investigation as to why there was a bank error. After finding out the information through other channels it was found out the error was not really a bank error, but that Dena was having payroll deposited into her personal bank account. Once International Agricultural Seed completed their investigation, they were able to find not only the 1.2 million that Dena stole from them, but another $500,000 that consisted of property bought by Dena in Michigan. Dena’s life after this fraud and charges that was brought up by the company caused her to lose her children and her husband divorced her. Her husband, Ron, took the kids and moved back to Ohio after the home they were living in was taken away from them. Dena ended up getting sentenced to 15 years in prison. The recommendations that were given to IAS after this incident were to have