This Podcast Is Episode Number 0277, And It Will Be About Construction Contractor Embezzlement Detective - Kelly Paxton Part 2 of 2 Kelly Paxton specializes in finding and helping Construction Contractors, other businesses, and government agencies root out Pink-Collar Crime in their companies. The term Pink-Collar Crime was made popular Dr. Kathleen Daly in the 1980s to describe a type of embezzlement crime committed by female employees who may have limited opportunity. It is thought women in this situation may have a history of committing low level crimes such as check kiting and bookkeeping fraud. Part of the reasoning is women tend to be in less powerful positions compared to men who had a history of engaging white-collar crime. During our Podcast interview which you can listen to Part 1 by clicking the play button above I asked Kelly why she became interested in Pink Collar Crime. She replied "...When I started working at the Sheriff’s Office I became intimately involved in seeing the devastation caused by small business embezzlement. What I did not know was the perpetrator committing these crimes. When I was a federal agent most of my targets were typical White Collar Criminals—in other words men. Kelly goes on to say she was seeing women who had violated the trust of their employers. Out of all the cases she worked at the Sheriff’s Office there was only one male embezzler they came across. The rest were women, all kinds of women: old, young and middle aged. Some had gambling habits, some of them wanted to buy stuff they didn't need, with money they didn't have to impress people. They appeared to share two things in common— they had earned their supervisor's trust and they had the opportunity to embezzle. The following is a true story from Pink-Collar-Crime Wall of Shame: Stealing from her sister... Another medical office embezzlement but this one is a family affair.  Older sister  who is a well paid ($110k per year) office manager stole from her younger sister’s medical practice.  Can you imagine the Thanksgiving dinner they had?  Well it probably didn’t happen.  Reading the story http://bit.ly/2A53LiM is like a soap opera.  At this point therapy may not help. According to the affidavit: “Additionally, airplane flights and in-flight charges were purchased using the card, along with lengthy expensive hotel stays and various vacation charges,…Also noted were charges for plastic surgery and cosmetics.“Lastly, many personal charges (were made), such as car repair, car registration, gas, music, horse boarding, various saddles and accessories for horses and other pets and miscellaneous grocery shopping, etc.” Then in 2014 she came down with an eating disorder and other health issues that prompted her to begin “binge shopping,” according to the affidavit. In addition, one of her daughters began “doing really well with horse riding,” so she began paying for those expenses with clinic credit cards. For everyone who follows me on Twitter or has seen my presentation you know #horsesareaclue. They are expensive and a pink flag. By summer 2016, Shannon Nagle said “she had ‘all sorts of justifications’ for what she was doing and was ‘angry and in denial which was a bad combo,'” the affidavit states. “She felt unappreciated at work, wasn’t getting raises while other employees were and felt that (Melinda) Nagle and (her business partner) believed she wasn’t worth her salary,” according to Fain’s affidavit. Those rationalizations are never a reason to steal but businesses need to understand that everyone rationalizes and opportunity is the only part of the #fraudtriangle you can control. The takeaway from this sad story is that trust but verify even if they are a family member.  I trust my sister with my life but not every family is that lucky. Click Here For Part 1 Podcast Interview With Kelly Paxton, CFE, PI Speaker And Fraud Consultant...