Everyone feels, at least sometimes, like they should be paid more for their job. Many of us look longingly at the things our neighbors have, or the lives our employers lead, and wish that we could have what they have. Looking at the lives of others as they enjoy the finer things can cause feelings of jealousy, and even inadequacy.
So what can you do about it? You can accept it, choosing to be happy with your lot in life, rather than comparing yourself with others. You can work hard at building your own career and salary, setting a goal for yourself of being able to afford those finer things, and then striving to achieve it. Then there’s what Sandy Jenkins did: he embezzled over $16 million from the company where he worked, over the course of 9 years. See how the Collin Street Bakery embezzlement story unfolds.
A Taste for Luxury
Sandy was an accountant for the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas. Over the years, he worked his way up to a salary of $50,000 a year. But Sandy craved the finer things in life: the latest cars, the finest suits, the fanciest watches, and even private planes. He also wanted to keep his wife Kay clad in jewelry and furs. But most of all, Sandy, a shy man, who was almost invisible in the community, craved the attention and respect of his affluent neighbors.
So Sandy Jenkins decided that the thriving company he worked for would foot the bill for his expensive tastes. He began by dipping into petty cash. But soon he wanted more. Sandy was in charge of Collin Street Bakery’s computerized check-writing system. So he began using it to write checks to his credit card company, which were automatically signed with the name of his boss.
To keep the company from discovering discrepancies, he would mark the checks as voided in the system, but not on paper. Then, he would write a check for the same amount to one of the company’s many vendors, keeping it in the system but never mailing it. That way, the books would always balance. He knew the company’s buying patterns, so it was easy to hide the money among other large purchases, so they’d go unnoticed.
Sandy’s purchases skyrocketed overnight. He kept a collection of watches, wines, several cars, and even bought a second house. He and his wife joined exclusive country clubs, supper clubs, and book clubs. Finally, they had it all.
Fall From Grace
Sandy’s boss, Bob McNutt, wondered why his once-thriving bakery wasn’t making more money. The neighbors all wondered where Sandy’s newfound wealth had come from. But no one suspected him of embezzlement. As the one in charge of keeping the books, whenever a minor discrepancy did arise, he was the one they brought it to, which allowed him to fix the numbers without anyone else ever looking into it.
Then one day in 2013, one of the other accountants at the company, a woman named Semetric Walker, found a record of one of the voided checks. There was no reason for there to be a check, even a voided one, written to Capital One, as the company held no accounts with them. Once again, Sandy said he’d fix the error, but Semetric decided to look into things herself as well.
With a little digging, she found a whole series of voided checks, written on Sandy Jenkins’ computer, to companies the bakery had no dealings with. All told, since 2004, Sandy had stolen $114,342.04 in petty cash, and well over $16.5 million in fraudulent checks.
After being fired for his actions, Sandy took his wife Kay and as many valuables as they could carry, and went on the run. The FBI quickly caught up with them and they were both arrested on charges of mail fraud, money laundering, and more. It was difficult to prove just how much of Sandy’s doings Kay knew about, and she got off with only five years of probation. Sandy, meanwhile, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison.
After a massive estate sale of all the luxury items the Jenkins had bought over the years, Bob McNutt and Collin Street Bakery were able to recover at least some of the money Sandy had stolen from them.
___________________________
If you are looking for a professional and reliable financial fraud investigation group, Veriti Consulting provides forensic accounting and fraud investigation services for individuals and businesses across the United States. Call 855-232-4410 or send your questions via email.