Fun Fact from the Files [JULY 2025]
The Embezzlement Case That Hit a Little Too Close to Home
When I launched my firm back in October of 2000, I did so with gratitude and support. The accounting firm I had interned with—and later served as a team member—graciously allowed me to transition some of the clients I had built relationships with. The rest of their small business clients were sold to another bookkeeper in the area.
I went my way. She went hers.
Seven years later, I opened the newspaper and felt my stomach drop.
Headline: Art museum bookkeeper charged with taking $211K
A former bookkeeper at the Asheville Art Museum was arrested and charged with embezzling over $210,000 over three years. Investigators claimed she had been writing checks to herself, underreporting revenue from museum admissions and gift shop catalog sales, and quietly pocketing the difference.
That bookkeeper? She was the one who had inherited the other half of the client base when I left.
According to police, she’d been siphoning funds from December 2003 through November 2006—right under the nose of a nonprofit running on a tight $1.3 million annual budget. The theft was only uncovered after she was fired for poor job performance. That’s how long it went unnoticed.
She was released without bond. No prior record. Just three years of internal control failures, missed red flags, and misplaced trust.
Sage takeaway:
Embezzlement doesn’t always look like a crime drama. Sometimes it’s just someone in the wrong seat, with too much access, no oversight, and nobody asking the hard questions.
In this case, it wasn't just about money stolen—it was trust broken, reputations shaken, and a nonprofit left to clean up the financial (and emotional) damage.
🛡 Freedom in business isn’t just about hitting goals. It’s about protecting the systems that support them. Internal controls aren’t optional—they’re the foundation.