How much could someone steal from you?

[alabamagal]

I saw an article over the weekend where a couple had $280,000 stolen by their nanny.  It doesn't say but it may have been over some time.

www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/07/randolph-nanny-charged-with-stealing-more-than-from-boston-family/GW9r8go81u9TYN5jypYU6J/story.html

I had in home day care provider for several years, and had any problems.  Honestly I think I would notice ANY check that was written from my account, but that is because I only usually write ~2 checks a month.  Now if someone had my debit card and used it at my grocery store for small charges, or used it at one of the fast food places that DH frequents, small amounts might not be caught, but if it was maybe $100 a month over my regular spending I think I would notice.

Actually when DH had a business he had an employee steal a check and cash it for $90 and he notice immediately.  And he wrote a lot of business checks.

I can't imagine it taking $280,000 before I said "Hey maybe something is wrong"

[swamp]

about $50.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

It doesn't say but it may have been over some time.

Not really, the checks were cashed from April to August of 2014.

ETA:  The only time I've had someone steal cash from me, I was an idiot and forgot to put my wallet in the safe at a resort in Mexico we were staying at.  Housekeeping (most likely) got about $160 US cash out of it.  I had $200 on me, they very kindly left me $40 of it!

[haapai]

My goodness, that's a carefully written story! 

It's hard for me to believe that the nanny pulled something like this off without the knowledge of either Victim #1 or victim #2.  

I'm definitely getting the idea that Vics 1&2 either don't talk to each other much or really didn't want to cut her loose for unexplained reasons.  I also notice that the article is silent in regard to how long she worked for them. 

[haapai]

I take that back, there's something in the article about when the large amounts of money disappeared but the period of the nanny's employment is still a bit mysterious. 

[Deleted]

DH keeps very little in his checking account. I'm a control freak and monitor our financials a lot (including credit card transactions) so I think I'd notice pretty quickly if money were disappearing. 

I suppose a live-in could empty the sterling silver chest without us noticing (we don't use it that much), but unless he/she knew the location of the safe with my jewelry, there's not much to steal around here.

[haapai]

I still scream BS in response to the headlines.  It takes more than one person to steal that much from you. 

[ArchietheDragon]

If she used checks from a money market attached to a brokerage account I could see how it may go for a while unnoticed. If the husband and wife weren't checking the brokers statements monthly, it could have gone on for a long time.

[haapai]

Archie, you have a surprising blind spot.  The bit about the brokerage account is good but assuming husband and wife is a bit daft. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Oct 12, 2015 9:45:49 GMT -5 haapai said:

Archie, you have a surprising blind spot.  The bit about the brokerage account is good but assuming husband and wife is a bit daft. 

True.  They could be living in sin. 

[haapai]

They seem to be making enough money that living in sin should save enough in taxes to pay for a nanny. 

And then there's another possibility.  This story takes place in Boston.  

[The Captain]

DH's identity has been actively breached twice and attempted a few other times.  We have fraud alerts on all three credit agencies and I update all of our accounts in Quicken daily.

They could get the cash in my wallet or under my mattress but that's it.

[Deleted]

If you took small amounts from my volunteer collections you could probably get get away with $500-$1000 over a year. Out of my bank account I am going to notice right away.

[thyme4change]

Oct 12, 2015 9:39:24 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

If she used checks from a money market attached to a brokerage account I could see how it may go for a while unnoticed. If the husband and wife weren't checking the brokers statements monthly, it could have gone on for a long time.

I was thinking the same thing.  I check my investments and my on-line savings accounts infrequently.  I don't have any checks in the house - that I know of - that draw off those accounts, but if I did - I could go months without noticing.  I don't even get paper statements, so to see any withdraws I would have to log on, notice my balance seemed fishy and then look at the activities.  When I used to get paper statements, I would open them, take a little looksy, and then shred them.  

[chiver78]

Oct 12, 2015 9:52:45 GMT -5 haapai said:

They seem to be making enough money that living in sin should save enough in taxes to pay for a nanny. 

And then there's another possibility.  This story takes place in Boston.  

I'm not following your logical leap...?

[haapai]

Okay, Archie, you're in the clear.  It appears that Ms. Heintz has a hubby. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 12, 2015 9:24:10 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

And as they say... more to the story. 



www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/08/nanny/Y9ecoS2DH1NYaTOV546nJL/story.html

The alleged victim of a nanny who police say stole hundreds of thousands of dollars is a Bain & Co. executive who learned too late that the woman taking care of her children had a long and public history of passing bad checks all over Greater Boston.

In 2007, Fox was caught using credit cards she’d stolen from customers at a Braintree restaurant where she worked to buy tickets to concerts and Red Sox games, gift cards, and other items, according to a report by The Patriot Ledger newspaper. She was sentenced to two years of probation.

While she was a student at Bunker Hill Community College in 2009 and 2010, she bought $2,565.96 worth of textbooks from the school’s bookstore with checks written from closed or nonexistent bank accounts, according to documents from the Charlestown division of Boston Municipal Court.

She pleaded guilty to 12 counts of larceny by check in January 2012, and was given a suspended sentence of 18 months. She was also required to submit to a psychiatric evaluation, according to the court documents, though records show that she failed to comply with the evaluation or follow-up treatment.

So you hire a nanny and don't bother to vet her out AT ALL?  This stinks.    If you live in Boston and make enough money that it takes awhile to determine that you've lost a quarter of a million $$ from your accounts, you are not dumb nor naive.

[haapai]

Oct 12, 2015 9:59:44 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Oct 12, 2015 9:52:45 GMT -5 haapai said:

They seem to be making enough money that living in sin should save enough in taxes to pay for a nanny. 

And then there's another possibility.  This story takes place in Boston.  

I'm not following your logical leap...?

I leap and typed before I read the second article carefully. 

On the other hand, the amount stolen is so far beyond what anyone could spend that you have to wonder if someone on the inside was getting a cut, or something else, from it. 

If your partner has money that you can't get a cut of in a legally-umped split, hiring a nanny with a skeevy record may be a way of getting your hands on some of it. 

And goodness know how being the odd girls out makes you vulnerable to all sorts of craziness and confidence schemes.  Okay, I'll admit that was what I was thinking. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Chessplayer lived in Boston, worked at one of those fancy management consultant firms and made a ton of money.... hmm..

[Deleted]

I monitor our accounts at least five times a week so it would be difficult to go after me there.

It would be possible to steal from our house for certain folks with access, but I wouldn't value those possessions at more than 10k and everything insurable is documented with receipts and pictures.

My biggest worry is dementia and creating a plan that will hold up even if my brain doesn't.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 12, 2015 9:55:57 GMT -5 @tbird said:

She was convicted previously of several state charges in Suffolk County for larceny-related offenses by check or credit card, according to District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office. Her sentences in those cases were not available Wednesday.

looks like a background check should have prevented this?

And she was hired to watch their kids...

[MarleyKeezy78]

$20 bucks in change lol!!! I would still notice.

[TheHaitian]

$50 sounds about right!