Stolen Inventory
Employee theft can be detrimental to the bottom-line and success of any business, including a multi-million-dollar one, when the losses are in the tens of thousands of dollars a month. About ten years ago, we were hired by a local company to investigate problems they were experiencing at one of their local manufacturing plants. Monthly sales records showed a decline in revenues, while raw material purchases and product inventories increased. The clients suspected that they had an employee stealing from them by selling products out the backdoor for cash.
Our investigators installed hidden cameras inside the plant’s main office where the employees handled the company’s sales transactions. They also performed physical surveillance of the grounds to record the comings and goings of customers. It was suspected that a few of these had made deals with the employees to receive products at a significantly lower price in exchange for cash, which the employees would then pocket instead of putting in the company’s safe.
After several weeks of investigation, evidence had been collected that supported this theory. Video showing three of the client’s employees making numerous cash sales and then pocketing the proceeds was obtained, and several of the client’s customers were identified as the co-conspirators. We contacted the police and began working with their detectives to build cases against these individuals.
We contacted the police and began working with their detectives to build cases against these individuals.
In the end, the three employees were each arrested and charged with various counts of theft and criminal conspiracy, and the customers involved in the scheme were blacklisted and banished from the client’s property for good. We also worked with our client after the arrests to help put safeguards in place to help prevent such threats in the future. Years later, our client reported that their profit margins had been restored and they had no further problems.