Anyone hear about this? A guy pulled in half a million dollars from a company he never worked for. The details:
An Illinois man was charged yesterday with ripping off a New Jersey telecommunications company after cashing nearly half a million dollars in paychecks over five years, even though he never worked for the company.
In 2002, Anthony Armatys, 34, of Palatine, Ill., initially accepted a job with Avaya, based in Bernards Township, but then changed his mind before the actual start day. The wheels of payroll, however, were already in motion, said Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest.
A direct deposit set up by Armatys fed his personal account with more than $469,000 between 2002 and 2007, when the theft was finally discovered, police said.
Ha! It just goes to show you what can happen in big companies once "the system" gets going. One small oversight and it's half a million dollars down the tubes!
But seriously, what was this guy thinking? How dishonest can you be? I hope they throw the book at him.
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You left out the best part...He only got caught because he tried to transfer money from his retirement account (from the Job benefits) to his personal account and the Fidelty (the company in charge of the pensions) sent up a red flag since his start and end dates were the same day. In other words, if the guy had not gotten greedy, the SNAFU would have continued...
Posted by: Billy | January 25, 2008 at 09:25 AM
DARN! I saw the post title and thought you'd bottled lightning, FMF. Instead you got me thinking about ramifications and "getting sent to prison."
Posted by: Dan | January 25, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Dan --
"I saw the post title and thought you'd bottled lightning."
I'm sneaky that way. ;-)
Posted by: FMF | January 25, 2008 at 10:03 AM
This happened to me the first 6 months I was employed. I was essentially getting paid twice the amount I agreed to upon employment. I found out later, that 2 profiles had been set up and I was getting one paper check and a direct deposit.
After payroll found out, it still took 6 months and many phone calls to correct the problem! I was surprised how long it took to correct an error like that! Not a bad problem to have!
I was surprised how many people told me that I shouldn't say anything and take the money and run!
Posted by: JBM | January 25, 2008 at 12:24 PM
I have a cousin who works for the social security administration. They constantly deal with similar games, but in his case it is a lot more active than what this guy did.
Recipient calls in and says their check did not arrive, so the SSA cuts and sends a new one. Eventually, the system notes the cashing of the recipient's checks both the "lost one" and the replacement and recipient gets called in and essentially get a year interest free loan.
However, my cousin notes they are starting to crack down on the worst offenders.
When in college I knew this one woman who got extra pay from ROTC and she treated it as mad money. Well, the system finally caught up with her too and then she started having her checks docked to make up for the over-payments.
Other people's stupidity and inattention does not give anyone license to be dishonest.
Posted by: Marcus Aurelius | January 25, 2008 at 12:28 PM
I had a company let me go and kept paying me. Being the honest person I was, I kept calling and telling them every time payday came and I got a deposit. Finally after a few weeks they sent a letter asking for the full amount back. I was honest and sent it back but only after negotiating a portion to be kept due to the 'time spent' on having to continuously notify them (pointing out that I made every effort to correct the mistake), as well as the 'emotional distress' from not being able to close the books on what was a very bad ending.
Posted by: Michael | January 25, 2008 at 01:27 PM
That's great Michael :)
This post is not that misleading now that I think about it. There are plenty of ways to get paid without working. Lots of people do it in this nation. Many are watching a soap or Judge Somebody right now as I type...
Posted by: Mike W | January 25, 2008 at 01:40 PM
Funny, this topic. If a bank has a rogue charge on your account or if your employer short changes your payroll it's your responsibility to chase this down or you can lose the money due to your negligence. Yet it doesn't work the other way around??? The company surely has some responsibility here to ensure their payroll is accurate.
Granted they have a case to get the money back, however if the money is spent or the person is living South of the Border they may have to settle for nothing to pennies on the dollar. That's just business.
I don't think criminal charges should apply unless the ex-employee was actively cooking up a fraudulent scheme. What he did by keeping silent is clearly not honest but I believe it's unethical vs illegal. Anyone think otherwise?
-Big Cheese.
Posted by: Big Cheese | January 26, 2008 at 11:37 AM
How does this count as theft? It seems like it's an error by the company. If someone gives you money by accident, I don't see how it can be seen as "theft." It's pure negligence by the company and they should be held responsible.
Posted by: Lazy Man and Money | January 26, 2008 at 03:19 PM
While this is definitely unethical, I don't see it as theft.
Giving no-bid contracts to a company where you own tens of thousands of shares is more dishonest than encashing paychecks that are being direct-deposited to your account.
Posted by: living off dividends | January 30, 2008 at 02:16 AM