Tag Archives: Employee Theft

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Employee Theft – Protecting More Than Property”

While hoteliers can take strong steps to reduce employee theft, eliminating it entirely is likely an impossibility.employeetheft The best loss prevention involves good procedures for hiring, training and supervision of employees. And by following a few best practices, employers can limit the potential liability for claims related to employee theft situations and diminish the potential for the insult of an expensive lawsuit on top of the injury of employee theft.

The problem of employee theft in hotels is an age-old problem. Businesses lose billion of dollars each year in employee theft. And hotels, by nature, present numerous opportunities for employee theft from guests and the house. Theft in a hotel can take many forms – from identity theft to credit card fraud to theft of merchandise and guest property. No employer hires an employee thinking that the employee is someday going to steal. Hotels need to take steps to prevent theft and be cautious in taking action against an employee after a suspected theft. Both have practice and legal implications.

Prevention in All Forms

Take a thorough look at your hotel’s security measures and processes. Ensure that your guest room locking systems and room safes meet general industry standards. Review, implement or update employee policies related to 1) package passes to control removal of property from the hotel, 2) lost and found procedures, which should be strictly enforced and 3) guest room access by employees. Consider an audit by a security expert to review your security procedures and protocols – in action.

For more: http://bit.ly/17ySjZz

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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Maine Restaurant Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling $80,000 Over 10 Months

“…Starting in January 2013 and continuing through October, (the defendant) began forging checks and taking cash from the Brass Compass and Hospitality Industry Employee TheftArcher’s restaurant. The lawsuit claims that Allen forged Archer’s name on $49,592 in checks and stole about $30,000 in cash from the two restaurants…Also, during those 10 months, Allen failed to pay state sales taxes for the two restaurants, which has resulted in Archer incurring interest and penalties for the failure to pay the taxes…”

The owner of two Rockland restaurants has filed a lawsuit against her former bookkeeper, alleging she embezzled nearly $80,000. Lynn Archer and her company Archer’s LLC filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Knox County Superior Court against Melanie L. Allen of Union.

Allen was arrested Oct. 23 by Rockland police and charged with felony theft and felony forgery. At the time, police said Allen was suspected of embezzling at least $18,000 from the Brass Compass Cafe and Archer’s on the Pier, both Rockland restaurants owned by Lynn Archer.

For more:  http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/02/news/midcoast/rockland-restaurant-owner-sues-bookkeeper-over-alleged-theft/?ref=latest

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Filed under Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Michigan Restaurant Waitress Convicted Of “Credit Card Forgery” After Padding Tips On Transactions; Prior Record For Theft And Larceny

“…(the defendant) was hired as a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings…on June 19, 2013, she stole from customers by padding the tip amount on Restaurant Employee Theftelectronic receipts…For example, when someone used a credit card to pay for their bill, (she) would change the tip amount when she entered the transaction into the computer…The restaurant received a complaint from a customer, which led to an internal investigation by the business. That initial complaint led to others…”

Kortney Donesia Lewis, a 25-year-old Fruitport Township woman, garnered three prison terms this week for padding her waitress tips at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant — crimes committed while she was a fugitive from sentencing for a theft at a Red Roof Inn job.

Lewis also has a previous conviction record of stealing credit cards and larceny in a building in 2009.

Muskegon County 14th Circuit Judge Timothy G. Hicks on Monday, Nov. 4, sentenced Lewis to prison for three terms of between 15 months and 15 years for credit-card forgery as a fourth-time habitual offender. She pleaded guilty as charged Sept. 24.

For more: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/11/ex-waitress_gets_prison_for_st.html

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Theft

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: California Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing $98,000 From Gift Shop

“…Police reported that a 51-year-old female employee at the Hotel Del Coronado embezzled an estimated $98,000 in cash and merchandise from Hotel Employee TheftThe Signature Shop, which sells apparel, gifts, wine and food…over a four-year period…”

An employee signed a confession to taking an estimated $49,000 in cash and $49,000 in merchandise from a gift shop at the Hotel Del Coronado, according to police.

Police said the employee had been taking money from the cash register while working at the hotel on the 1500 block of Orange Avenue over a four-year period from May 2009 to May 2013.

The loss was estimated at $49,000 in cash and another $49,000 in merchandise.

For more:  http://coronado.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/employee-embezzles-98k-from-hotel-del-coronado

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Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Louisiana Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing Over $34,000 From “Night Deposits”; Altered “Drop Log” And Inflated “Reward Point System”

“…As a controller at the hotel, (the employee) had been responsible for removing and verifying nightly deposits cashiers made into the Hotel Employee Theftsafe. His duties included checking these funds against a corresponding drop log and hotel records…A total of 97 deposits were found to be missing $34,280.53, according to an arrest warrant…to further conceal the scheme, (he) also is accused of falsely inflating the hotel’s reward point system, a program that allows guests to redeem points for services…”

An employee at the Renaissance hotel in Baton Rouge is accused of stealing more than $34,000 from hotel safe deposits and altering financial records to cover his tracks, according to court records. East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies issued an arrest warrant for Matthew D. Dziadosz, 38, 8741 Pecan Tree Drive, on one count of felony theft. Detectives began an inquiry in June after an internal audit turned up discrepancies in the hotel’s deposits and accounting records.

“It was noted that varying amounts of cash were systematically removed from the daily dropped envelopes,” Detective Kevin Chenier wrote in the warrant.

Hotel records showed more than three dozen instances in which drop log entries had been altered and another 12 entries omitted entirely.

“This would have given the impression the employee had not dropped an envelope at all,” Chenier wrote.

In some instances, Dziadosz re-wrote an entire drop log, the warrant says. He had been expected to document erroneous or missing deposits, the warrant says, but made no reports “consistent with the volume of falsely reported errors or missing drops.”

For more:  http://theadvocate.com/news/7199061-123/hotel-employee-accused-of-pocketing

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Filed under Crime, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Theft

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: New Jersey Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing “Wedding Reception Cash”; Used Freight Elevator To Avoid Surveillance Cameras And Enter Rooms

“…(the former employee), who was hired in May, apparently slipped up through the freight elevator so that he wouldn’t be detected by hotel Hospitality Industry Employee Crimesurveillance cameras and then used a swipe card to get into unoccupied newlywed suites…$770 was taken (in one incident) and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen…”

A since-fired bell hop at the Saddle Brook Marriott was arrested by local police last night and charged with slipping into the rooms of newlyweds at their receptions and snatching some of their wedding-gift cash.

Timothy Henriquez, 30, of Chester, NY, is charged with two counts of theft — for a July incident in which $770 was taken and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen. He was released on a summons pending a Municipal Court hearing, police said.

“Upon learning of his arrest, Marriott terminated his employment,” Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.

For more: http://cliffviewpilot.com/saddle-brook-police-charge-hotel-employee-with-thefts-from-newlyweds-rooms/

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Theft

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Restaurant POS And Video Integration Software “Flags Questionable Transactions, Events And Conditions” To Reduce Employee Theft

“…software that can isolate POS activity not in compliance with performance standards and that is integrated with accompanying video Restaurant Employee Theftprovides training opportunities and also highlights suspicious activity of a particular cashier or manager…top that off with a video catching an employee in the act and it’s icing on the cake…The cloud-based system, which now has a real-time mobile app to alert  managers when suspicious activity occurs,  gives managers hard data on their employees, said Lori Kittle, CIO of Landry’s, the company behind 40 restaurant brands, including Morton’s, Bubba Gump and McCormick & Schmick’s…”

The National Restaurant Association estimates that internal employee theft is responsible for 75 percent of inventory shortages and about 4 percent of restaurant sales. Three-quarters of employees steal from the workplace at least once, while half steal repeatedly.

Another company specializing in detecting and preventing employee theft is EZConnect, which is used in Subway and Dunkin Donuts units. The platform features the ability to integrate digital video with the POS system as well.

“Suspicious cash transactions can be pinpointed and reviewed quickly, avoiding hours of research on standard digital camera systems,” Michael Starer, CEO of Profit Enhancement Technologies Inc., the company behind EZConnect.

For more:  http://www.fastcasual.com/article/219487/Using-technology-to-stop-restaurant-theft

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Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: New Study Shows That Restaurant Employee Theft Can Be “Significantly Reduced” By Surveillance And Sales Transaction Monitoring

“…Knowing they were being monitored, the servers not only pulled back on any unethical practices, but also channeled their efforts into, say, prompting customers to have that dessert or a second beer, raising revenue for the restaurant and tips for themselves… in the restaurant Restaurant Employee Theftindustry, analysts estimate the losses from employee theft at 1 percent of revenue. That does not seem like a lot, but restaurant profit margins are slender, typically 2 to 5 percent. So cutting down on theft can be an important contributor to a restaurant’s financial health…”

And a new research paper, published on Saturday, shows in detail how significant the surveillance effect can be. The paper, “Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology Monitoring on Employee Theft and Productivity,” is the work of three academics: Lamar Pierce, an associate professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis; Daniel Snow, an associate professor at the Marriott School at Brigham Young University; and Andrew McAfee, a research scientist at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The researchers measured the impact of software that monitors employee-level theft and sales transactions, before and after the technology was installed, at 392 restaurants in 39 states. The restaurants were in five “casual dining” chains. The paper does not name the five,  but it cites examples of the casual dining category including Applebee’s, Chili’s and Olive Garden.

Employee theft and fraud is a big problem, estimated at up to $200 billion a year across the economy.

For more:  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/how-surveillance-changes-behavior-a-restaurant-workers-case-study/?_r=0

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Filed under Crime, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Florida Hotel Manager Charged With Stealing Over $42,000; Diverted Company Charges To Personal Account

“…According to court documents, (the defendant) ran a scheme in which she made various charges from the company account into six of her Hotel Employee Theftpersonal accounts…part of her duties included checking guests into the hotel and processing cash and credit card payments…from early 2009 to late 2010, authorities say she diverted $42,954.32 from the company account…”

A former employee of a Tallahassee hotel is facing charges she stole more than $42,000 from the business by diverting money onto personal credit cards. Chyrell Martin, 33, a former front desk clerk and manager at the Collegiate Village Inn was booked into Leon County jail on Monday. Martin, of Georgia, is facing charges of grand theft and fraud to obtain property.

Martin, who worked as a manager at the hotel from 2005 to 2010, resigned suddenly in Oct. 2010 after the investigation into the irregularities on the company account began, according to court documents.

She is currently in Leon County jail.

For more:  http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130730/NEWS/130730007/

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Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Massachusetts Hotel Manager Charged With Stealing Over $300,000 Over Two Years; Created Fake Employees And Cashed Checks

“…the fake employees would appear on the payroll and receive a paycheck.  Anjanel would then ask another person to cash the checks and that Hotel Employee Theftperson would give all of the money to the defendant…Anjanel would also wire the money to Guatemala, using her own name and also asking others whom she knew to wire the money on her behalf…Over the two year period, Anjanel stole more than $300,000 from the two hotels…”

A Lawrence woman was arraigned Friday on larceny charges for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from two hotels where she worked as a manager, according to a release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Authorities allege that in 2010 when Anjanel was working as the manager of the Residence Inn at 1775 Andover Street in Tewksbury, she was responsible for and had access to hotel finances including payroll and petty cash, as well as the authority to make hiring decisions.

According to the release, Anjanel used her responsibilities as manager to add three employees to the hotel’s payroll. These employees were never on the schedule, and never actually worked at the hotel, according to the release.

For more:  http://tewksbury.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/hotel-manager-charged-with-stealing-from-tewksbury-hotel

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