Posted on 10/06/2021 3:01:33 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A former employee of Palo Alto restaurants Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby has been charged with embezzling more than $200,000, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
Jennifer Colvin, 40, of Oakland, was the director of human resources, payroll and risk management for Rangoon Ruby Investments, LLC and Burma Ruby Investments, LLC in Palo Alto. She allegedly increased her monthly salary and paid herself bonuses without authorization.
The alleged embezzlement occurred between February 2019 and October 2020. The owner of Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby discovered the alleged fraud in November 2020 after noticing accounting discrepancies. Colvin had given herself multiple $15,000 bonuses and made a $65,000 payment for a Porsche, among other alleged thefts, investigators reportedly found.
Colvin has been charged with two felony counts of theft by an employee. If convicted, she could face incarceration and be required to pay restitution to the company. Colvin is scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday afternoon in the Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen cautioned business owners to watch their business finances closely.
“This theft happened during the height of the pandemic, when local restaurants were already struggling. Please develop robust checks and balances for your business. Trust, but verify. Your livelihood depends on it,” he said.
Embezzlement prevention tips from DA's office:
-- Set up dual authority so oversight is built into the handling of finances
(i.e., the employee handling accounting is not the same employee in charge of writing checks).
-- Run background checks for people who handle finances.
-- Hire a CPA firm to do a sampling of transactions on a regular interval.
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-- If you have a business with a high amount of cash transactions, keep good records, exercise high scrutiny and/or oversight or consider converting to a non-cash business.
-- When you discover an employee has been stealing, report it immediately to the police.
Business like that should always have two signers for a check.
Superman sequel with Richard Pryor, Office Space and now this woman.
Stupid criminal. He should have just stolen a shopping cart and shoplifted $200K worth of stuff from Walmart. They don’t prosecute those crimes any more.
(risk management)
They should call it “Roundtine”
He’s my protégé!!
George Costanza, that is
T-Bone!!
“be required to pay restitution to the company...”
Minimum punishment. Colvin will need to do more if she wishes to avoid hell, such as spend time in jail, go to confession and pray for the owners.
I liked Office Space and yeah, that thing with the odd penny.
This year alone, I saw an obama kid steal around 20 shirts with tags from Ross. We didnt notice it until he was beside us, and was removing the tags. Ross was around a block away so it was easy to connect the dots. My GF and I walk one more block to the dollar store and the sec guard caught one shoplifter and told her to F off. I guess Ross doesnt give a hoot how much $$ they lose but the dollar store cares.
Ross probably has orders from corporate to let them go. Dollar store is probably an individual franchise. That makes all the difference.
My family’s favorite restaurant. Been there dozens of times. Wow.
I haven't been there in a few years.
Is the Burmese place around the corner gone now?
Probably goes on way more than people think.
I had a family member who’s business was embezzled from by a “trusted employee” who had been there forever.
Basically people suck and when it comes to money they really suck.
Yes, we always get the tea leaf salad, and also the similar ginger salad. There are two of them in downtown Palo Alto (and another in Burlingame) owned by the same people. I don’t know if the other Palo Alto location is the one “around the corner” to which you were referring, but if so, yes, it’s also still there.
Actually, I have been to both the ones in Downtown Palo Alto. But there used to be a less posh one called Rangoon on Bryant. I don’t remember if it had the tea lead salad, but it was pretty good. It was quieter and less chi chi.
Hmmm . . . might have to try it!
It happens in a lot small businesses. Even “Family” outfits. I have see it several times.
It is always the person you trusted the most. “Been with us eighteen years” “Just like family” and sometimes actually is family.
Exactly. And so dedicated - never takes a vacation. Best practice is to ensure that people take vacations as often that’s how these things are uncovered.
Owners can’’t set the new employee straight stating,I come in any day and check the books....Period.....
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