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Reporting fraud

So, you land your dream job only to discover you were deceived and the BOD is embezzling money from the organization. What would you do? Keep in mind that reporting them will leave you without a job, possibly put you on some black list and not reporting them will make you an accessory to a federal crime. Do you speak up even if you may end up homeless or remain quiet and allow the funding to be stolen from the organization? What will you do and why? It might help to know that this is a real situation and the org. in question is stealing from the underprivelged children and food pantries.
I have a follow up question for this but will wait for some responses to part one as part 2 will expose the decision I made so let's go...WWYD???

Dida 7 Mar 7
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14 comments

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0

Sometimes, if a person is have any moral core, one simply has to take risks to do what is right.

1

I would report it. Always do the right thing.

Good to hear.

1

Been there done that, a few times. I report.
Years ago I was put into jobs when there was fraud suspected, it was not my role, but I had the reputation.

1

Having been through a similar situation that did not go well, next time I would report to the appropriate state or local agency, requesting that my personal information not be revealed until I landed a new job, and start filing resumes and applications immediately.

1

I was in this situation many years ago before I started being an independent consultant. I was safety and compliance supervisor for a trucking company. I quickly figured out that I was just a figurehead, that drivers were expected to go where / when told even if they had to double and triple log their trips because they exceeded the maximum number of on-duty hours. One day it came to a head, our most senior driver fell asleep at the wheel after being run for 36 hours continuously all over the northeastern US by dispatch.

I walked into the CEO's office and told him, Curt has been in a major accident. It was one of those surreal situations right out of a movie script. The Big Man was in the middle of putting practice in front of his desk. He did not ask if Curt was alright (he managed to walk away from the wreck). He did not ask if anyone else was hurt (no, by some miracle he missed a head-on with a car full of children). He just sad, "Ha! He's an idiot! Fire him!". I did not have to think about it. I said, YOU fire him, I quit. And I walked out. I also reported the fuckers to the appropriate authorities. Satisfyingly, they were bankrupt within six months anyway, despite being a subsidiary of a pretty major trucking company, which also went bankrupt a couple of years later.

Another time when I was doing independent consulting work in software development some guy who owned a small gas station chain called me because he heard I had a good reputation developing custom accounting software. This idiot though he was the first person to think up this idea: can you create accounting software with two sets of books for me? One with the real numbers, and the other fudged for the IRS? I said, sure I could, if I wanted to be an accessory to tax fraud, and I don't, thank you very much. He offered me obscene amounts of money. I did not accept. Because I'm not an idiot, I can see past the end of my dick.

I really don't see this sort of thing as much of a cunundrum when you're facing being an accessory to a crime or perpetuating unsafe conditions that can end up in people dying. I'd rather starve than have that on my conscience, or worry about the long arm of the law catching up to me.

0

Change jobs, move out of town....and then report the fraud. These people may have long arms.

1

I'd resign the job immediately with a notice detailing what I discovered. On my way to deliver said notice, I'd stop by the pantries to make them aware of my intentions and contact whatever local version of news crime stoppers you may have in the area. The only way my descendants may live in a decent world is if people currently living in it notify the public of it's indecencies.

0

Turn the fucker in..

@Dida good to know you still have Your job..congrats!!!

1

Sounds like the dream job has turned into a nightmare. If you have irrefutable, incontrovertible proof of wrongdoing, I don't know what real choice remains but to show it to those who can, and hopefully will, do something about it.

What is BOD, by the way? I'm not familiar with that acronym.

I think it's Board of Directors.

@phxbillcee thank you. My acronymology is aerospace related; don't recall seeing the BOD before.

@Condor5 I just guessed based on context, I may be wrong.

0

Blackmail

1

Cover your behind, and do the right thing. Report them, and start looking for another position immediately!
Unemployed looking for work is much better than being in jail.

3

Reporting is the right thing to do regardless, especially with whom the money is being stolen from. On top of that, if you can be found culpable for not reporting that just makes it more imperative to get out front! On an even more "selfish" angle than just the legal ramifications is that if done through the media, as is so often done today, you may actually head off the monetary disaster. So, do it right. Get all your ducks in a row, all the proof you can gather &...get a lawyer!!!

@Dida Right on! Best of luck & please keep us informed.

1

I've always had a stronger sense of justice than logic. I'd report.

1

You gather all the evidence, irrefutable, you contact the press and you blow the whistle. Your situation -- unemployment/homelessness -- does not change the answer. Your personal situation does not have a bearing on what is ethical action.

Well, it does make sense to cover yourself & plan. Doing the right thing does not mean committing suicide!

So, then, by your argument, you could delay reporting child abuse, rape, or murder if somehow it put you at risk? No. Absolutely not.

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