Office Manager's Guide to Invoicing

How to Earn a 5-Year (Prison) Vacation

Kimberly Lawson, an office manager at a Philadelphia electrical contracting company, handled invoicing, vendor payments, bank account reconciliation, and had check-signing authority. Over two years, she siphoned off over $250,000 to accounts she controlled, masking the theft as legitimate vendor and payroll payments through her access to accounting software.

Lawson was sentenced to five years in federal prison for bank fraud, wire fraud, and identity fraud. This wasn’t her first brush with the law; 13 years prior, she served nearly two years for stealing $290,000 from another employer.

Her second employer failed to uncover her prior conviction during hiring and gave her responsibilities that should have been split among multiple employees or outsourced. Regular audits could have caught the fraud early, minimizing losses.

Protect your business from similar risks. Contact Fittz & Associates to hire a Certified Fraud Examiner for a thorough fraud examination today.