This post reminded me of a fraud case I read about many years ago. The comptroller of a large company ... about 10,000 employees as I recall ... modified the payroll database so that when the W-2s were printed, everyone's FWHT was printed for $1.00 less than was actually withheld. (This was before the days when payroll earnings statements showed YTD totals for all categories of income and withholdings.) The comptroller then increased his FWHT by the total of all the $1 shortages, and voila ... a $10,000 windfall. Everything still reconciled, because the total FWHT reported on all the W-2s still agreed with the total FWHT reported on the year's four quarterly 941 forms.
The comptroller was caught because one employee contacted the company's treasurer or CFO, insisting that his W-2 was off by exactly $1, and the investigation that followed exposed the scheme. Don't remember the final outcome, but I'm sure the comptroller didn't get to enjoy that $10,000.
The comptroller was caught because one employee contacted the company's treasurer or CFO, insisting that his W-2 was off by exactly $1, and the investigation that followed exposed the scheme. Don't remember the final outcome, but I'm sure the comptroller didn't get to enjoy that $10,000.
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