Trust is the currency of the workplace — and when an employee misuses that trust, the financial and emotional fallout can be dramatic. From sliding funds into personal accounts to inflating invoices and falsifying records, these are not just “oops” moments: they’re deliberate betrayals. The individuals profiled here held positions of authority or special access, and they used them to siphon money, deceive their bosses and hide in plain sight. As you scroll through these real-life examples, you’ll notice patterns: long time-frames, trusted roles, and schemes built on oversight gaps.
1. Jasmyne Botelho Embezzles $280,000 From Two Employers
Jasmyne Botelho, 41, pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud after she embezzled at least $280,000 from two separate employers between September 2017 and April 2020.
Her role gave her access to employer funds, and she abused that trust by redirecting money into accounts she controlled. The case highlights how even mid-level staffers can exploit payment systems when checks and balances are weak. Employers faced not only the financial hit but also the reputational damage of being defrauded by one of their own.
Botelho’s scheme underscores a common point: the longer an employee operates without detection, the larger the theft can grow. Her prolonged access enabled her to repeatedly misappropriate funds until an audit or legal referral triggered her downfall. Companies can guard against this by rotating sensitive duties and mandating periodic independent reviews. This case is a cautionary tale for firms that treat trusted employees as exempt from oversight.
2. Priya Bhambi Steals $2.3 Million At Takeda
Priya Bhambi, 40, a senior technology operations employee at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for a scheme in which she defrauded the company of at least $2.3 million. Bhambi leveraged her position to create false invoices and payments in collusion with an external party, disguising the scheme as legitimate business expenses. The theft spanned several years and only came to light through a tip or irregularity in the audit trail. It shows how even sophisticated firms can be vulnerable when internal controls are circumvented by insiders.
In this case, the scale mattered: millions diverted, trust broken, and legal consequences severe. The warning here is that employees in technology or finance operations roles often have access that goes unnoticed for years. Firms must audit for unusual vendor creations, duplicate payments and patterns of abuse. Bhambi’s case is a stark reminder that theft isn’t always blatant—it can be hidden in plain sight under the guise of “business as usual.”
3. Juan Hicks Charged With $1 Million Theft
Juan Hicks, 47, former IT director of A.T. Wall Co. in Warwick, Rhode Island, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for stealing over $1 million from his employer over about a decade. Hicks manipulated purchasing systems, created false invoices, altered credit-card statements and used company credit cards for personal expenses such as airline tickets, entertainment and car repairs. The scheme only ended when a forensic investigation into a cyber-attack uncovered his financial tricks. The trust placed in his IT role—combined with weak separation of purchasing and payments—enabled the theft.
Hicks’s story underlines the danger of giving one person too many pay-and-procure powers. The separation of duties is a key control so that no single individual can both approve and execute payments unchecked. The aftermath for his employer: loss of money, reputational damage, and internal soul-searching about oversight. For employees in high-access roles, the temptation and opportunity can be massive—and so must the safeguards.
4. Teo Cheng Kiat Embezzles US$35 Million At Singapore Airlines
Teo Cheng Kiat, a former clerk and later cabin-crew supervisor at Singapore Airlines (SIA), secretly embezzled approximately US$35 million over 13 years from 1987 to 2000. He exploited his control over meal and overnight allowances to falsely pay non-flying crew and channel the payments into accounts he controlled, buying luxury items and property. Despite being a low-level employee at first, his longevity and knowledge of internal systems let him stay undetected for over a decade. When finally apprehended, the scale and length of his crime shocked both the public and the airline industry.
The Teo case shows how insider knowledge and prolonged tenure amplify fraud risk. An employee who “knows the system” can manipulate multiple steps before detection occurs. It also illustrates the need for periodic third-party audits—even in seemingly routine allowances. The impact? A huge financial loss, legal action, and system overhaul within the airline.
5. Yi He Pleads Guilty To Stealing $26 Million From A Furniture Company
Yi He, 35, of Powell, Ohio, pleaded guilty after embezzling over $26 million from his employer, a Columbus-area furniture manufacturer supplying major retailers. As the payroll and tax-related duties manager, He was in a trusted position and abused his access to siphon funds for personal gain. The fraud included false wire transfers, tax under-reporting and hiding the mismatches from internal controls. The magnitude of his theft stunned the company and triggered criminal proceedings.
His scheme underlines how far fraud can scale when checks fail: multiple years, millions stolen, and internal oversight lacking. The emotional and operational damage to the employer was enormous—not just the money, but the betrayal of trust and morale. For businesses, this case reinforces the need for external audits, rotating duties, and employing advanced anomaly detection software. The reckoning for him included prison and mandatory compensation.
6. Rasela Afuie Steals $1.1 Million In 16 Months
Rasela Afuie, 49, was sentenced after stealing about $1.1 million from her employer, a freight company in Melbourne, over just 16 months through more than 230 fake invoices. Described by the court as a “pathological gambler,” Afuie used her trusted role to mask the scheme and channel funds to her personal use, all while the business believed normal operations were underway. The discovery occurred when her employer conducted checks during her vacation and uncovered the ghost invoices. Afuie’s rapid theft highlights how quickly losses can mount when oversight fails.
The pace and sheer number of fake invoices in this case show how high the risk becomes when employees with accounting or invoicing duties misuse them. A vacation or absence often triggers discovery—but by then, damage is done. Employers must institute invoice verification rules, dual-sign approvals and routinely review vendor lists for anomalies. Afuie’s case serves as a stark reminder: misuse of invoice systems can quietly drain an organisation fast.
7. Michael Paterson Embezzles Over £1 million From A Local Council
Michael Paterson, 59, a former council tax and recovery team leader for Aberdeen City Council, embezzled £1,087,444.47 from 2006 to 2023 by redirecting council tax refunds into accounts he controlled. His unsupervised authority allowed him to exploit refund processes and live a lavish lifestyle funded by Apple goods, foreign holidays and fine dining. The crime went undetected for 17 years until a colleague flagged an odd refund transaction. For the council, the trust placed in his role had an enormous financial cost when abused.
This case underscores how internal control failures can linger for years when employees with refund or rebate authority act unchecked. Long tenure plus minimal review equals high risk. Organizations should implement periodic external audits, dual-signature refund processes and shine light on unusual refund patterns. Paterson’s scheme offers a caution: public sector entities are not immune to large-scale insider theft either.
8. Kayricka Wortham & Demetrius Hines Steal Nearly $10 Million From Amazon
Kayricka Wortham and Demetrius Hines, managerial and loss-prevention employees at Amazon.com, Inc., pleaded guilty to defrauding the company of approximately $9.4 million by submitting fake vendor invoices from August 2020 to March 2022. They abused their trusted roles to funnel fake payments into personal accounts and maintain the scheme for months. The scale of the fraud showed how even large corporations can be vulnerable when internal vendor-approval controls are weak. For Amazon, the case represented a major breach of trust and a costly oversight gap.
This example highlights three things: the seriousness of high-level internal fraud, the need for vendor-monitoring systems, and the importance of frequent audits. When employees who approve vendors also manage payments, the opportunity for abuse is enormous. Large companies often believe size insulates them—but these cases prove otherwise. The fraud here also demonstrates how quickly millions can be diverted if controls are bypassed.
9. Frank Santora & Anthony Piscina Accused Of Wage Theft At Grimaldi’s
Frank Santora and Anthony Piscina, owners and managers of the Manhattan pizzeria Grimaldi’s, were accused of stealing $20,000 in wages from seven employees by underpaying staff, sending bounced checks, and misleading workers. The pair allegedly bragged about getting away with the wage theft, showing how entitlement and disregard for laws can pair in a theft scenario. For the employees, the theft was personal: missed paychecks, broken trust, and a legal fight. This case reminds us that internal theft isn’t just about money—it’s about power, fairness, and workplace ethics.
Big embezzlement schemes often overshadow wage theft, but it’s real, harmful and common. Employers who think theft only happens at the “top” may miss these more subtle but frequent abuses. Businesses of all sizes must monitor pay practices, encourage worker feedback and investigate irregularities. Santora and Piscina show that even a small employer can become the site of theft that damages lives and reputations.
10. Nessa Gilsenan Allegedly Steals €70,000 From A Restaurant
Nessa Gilsenan, 51, an employee at the Irish restaurant Fishy Fishy in Kinsale, Co. Cork, was charged with over 130 counts of theft and false-documentation after allegedly stealing more than €70,000 between 2017 and 2022. The sums ranged from small (€82) to larger (€1,650), but the systematic nature of the theft made it especially insidious. The employer trusted the worker and gave access, only to be targeted repeatedly. For small-business owners, this case underscores the risk of not monitoring money flows, even when “the team” feels tight.
Employees in smaller firms often wear multiple hats and oversight can slip. When one person handles payments, reimbursements and expense logs, the opportunity to exploit gaps grows. Regular reconciliation, surprise audits and clear expense protocols are essential. Gilsenan’s case is a reminder that theft can begin small—and grow quietly into significant losses.
11. Tony Ream Skims $1.6 million For Wedding And Vacations
Tony Ream, 34, a former credit supervisor at a U.S. healthcare-products distribution company, pleaded guilty to wire fraud after embezzling $1.6 million from his employer between October 2020 and November 2024. Ream diverted refund payments from his company into personal accounts, then used the stolen funds for his wedding, international luxury travel and a failed restaurant venture. His trusted role and unsupervised access made it possible to hide the theft for years. For the company, the betrayal came at a personal cost: trust shattered, processes re-examined, and thousands of dollars gone.
Ream’s story shows how fraud isn’t always about “evil mastermind”—sometimes it’s about opportunity, lifestyle and unchecked access. Young and relatively junior, he still managed to pull off a multi-million-dollar theft because internal review controls were weak. The lesson for employers: don’t assume only tenured staffers commit fraud; ambitious young employees can cause big damage too. Investing in continuous monitoring systems could stop this kind of theft before it grows.
12. Paul Steed Accused Of Embezzling $28 Million From Mars
Paul Steed, 58, a former global price risk manager at Mars, Inc., has been charged with embezzling more than $28 million through his creation of phony vendor companies and diversion of funds between 2011 and 2023. Using offshore accounts, shell companies, and unauthorized trades, Steed allegedly siphoned huge sums of money meant for Mars and its operations. His long tenure and the confidence of his employer masked his fraudulent activities for over a decade. The scale of the alleged fraud makes this one of the largest internal theft schemes in recent corporate history.
This case highlights how high-level roles and global operations increase complexity—and risk. When someone resides within “trusted” international functions, detection becomes difficult, and companies must rely on multilayered oversight. Internal audits alone aren’t enough; external forensic reviews may be essential. For big corporations, Steed’s case will become a textbook example of how internal betrayal can lead to massive losses and reputational damage.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Consult a financial professional before making investment or other financial decisions. The author and publisher make no warranties of any kind.
