Patterns owners tend to find
Employee embezzlement in small and mid-sized businesses often runs through ordinary systems: refunds issued to the employee's own card, vendors that do not exist, payroll entries for people who no longer work there, or cash deposits that come up short. It frequently continues for a long time because the person handling the money is also the person reconciling it. Discovering it can feel urgent, but the first moves determine how much can later be proven and recovered. A quick confrontation sometimes gives the person time to delete records or move money. Whether to suspend access first, and how, is worth deciding with counsel.
Secure the books and give notice
Preserve the accounting system as it is, along with bank statements, payroll exports, and the employee's work email and devices, and do not let anyone clean up or correct entries in the meantime. A forensic accountant can trace the losses in a way that will hold up later, which matters both for a police report and for a civil claim. Review your insurance as well, because many businesses carry crime or employee dishonesty coverage, and those policies often have notice and proof-of-loss requirements on a set timetable. Tell your bank promptly about any unauthorized transactions. If a written timeline of who knew what would help, prepare it at your lawyer's direction.
Repayment, reporting, and the order of moves
Many employers want the money back more than they want a prosecution. Negotiating repayment is possible, but tying it to a promise not to go to the police can raise legal problems of its own, so the terms need care. Reporting to law enforcement is your decision, though prosecutors then control the criminal case, and a restitution order in that case is not the same as collecting the money. A civil suit can seek recovery and, in some cases, an order freezing assets, but its value depends on what the person actually has. Our first meeting with an employer usually covers the size and proof of the loss, the insurance available, and which path or combination of paths fits your goals.
