The Bookkeeper Goes to Prison

Overview

This course profiles Brenda, a financial executive from the state of Washington. Despite earning her college degree, Brenda did not find employment in her area of study. Instead, she landed a series of dead-end jobs. Business reversals frequently led to the loss of employment. When a company that she knew to be unethical offered her an executive position that included bookkeeping tasks, including overseeing all finances, she accepted. While on the job, Brenda saw owners of the company misappropriating funds. Rather than reporting the fraud, she created an elaborate scheme to benefit herself - without the owner's knowledge. Her bad decisions led to a guilty plea for wire fraud, after authorities accused her of absconding with more than $600,000 in corporate funds. A prison term of 20 months followed. Listen and learn from Brenda's experience. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

After attending this presentation you will be able to...

• Recognize how poor judgment on the job can lead to a prison term
• Recall how government investigations begin
• Recognize that illegal behavior by one group does not justify illegal behavior by another group
• Indicate how loss amounts influence sentence lengths
• Recall the aftermath of a criminal charge

Highlights

The major topics covered in this class include:

• Career choices
• Ethical dilemmas
• Judicial proceedings
• Mitigation strategies
• Creating tools to help make better decisions
• Atonement and reconciliation