SDC has worked many cases involving ghost employees.
In these cases, an individual misappropriates pay by creating ghost employees who are paid for time not actually worked.
In 2024, Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, announced the arrest of five individuals on fraud charges. These defendants conducted a scheme over a span of years that included no-show jobs and disguising personal expenses as business related.
From May 2010 through February 2019, the five defendants created false timesheets, false bills, and used company funds for personal expenses. The total misappropriation was found to be upward of $7 million. The defendants also used these funds to purchase cruises, hotel stays, and private car services. To further conceal the fraud, these individuals did not report or pay taxes on the income received through the scheme, leading to additional charges of tax evasion.
This scheme also provided enrichment to friends and family members of the five individuals charged. Mark Angarola, Global Account General Manager, was responsible for managing services provided to the client from an IT subcontractor. Angarola was able to approve invoices for services, and used this authority to approve false invoices for monetary gain.
Ghost employees and false invoices, however, are part of the many increasing tactics being used to conceal fraud.
Five defendants arrested for 7 million dollar embezzlement scheme targeting IT services company | Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/five-defendants-arrested-for-7-million-dollar-embezzlement-scheme-targeting-it-services-company
Photo by Ufuk Avcuoğlu
