Fraud at Furniture World
You have been reading about current fraud cases in the news to
keep up-to- date on the latest fraud schemes. Read the following
case summary and then answer the questions that follow.
Case summary: An employee of Furniture World, a retail outlet
based in North Carolina, has been charged with theft for allegedly
embezzling over $250,000 from the company. Elizabeth Pine, 52, is
scheduled to make her initial court appearance on Wednesday.
According to Police Detective Dick Berry, Pine was Furniture
World’s payroll clerk and was a trusted employee for over 15 years.
Pine’s fraudulent activities, which included arranging payments for
fictitious employees, had taken place over the last 16 months. The
payments were electronically deposited into bank accounts
controlled by Pine, Berry reported. Berry said the fraud was
discovered when the company accountant had trouble reconciling
the company’s accounts. An

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internal audit revealed several names
on the payroll that did not have valid Social Security numbers. The
company subsequently contacted police for help in the
investigation. Berry also reported that Pine was recently divorced,
has three children to support, and has several credit cards with high
balances. Berry added that Pine has resigned from the company
and intends to pay the money back.
Checklist:
1. How did the three components of the Fraud Triangle enable the fraud to occur?
2. Using Dr. Steve Albrecht’s fraud risk factors, which factors allowed this fraud to
occur?
3. Based on your chapter reading, how would theorists Hollinger and Clark assess
this fraud case?
4. What did the business do correctly in this situation?
5. What could have been done to prevent this fraud?

Prepare your 2–3 page paper in APA format and make sure to add
an additional title and reference page.

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