Colleen Kieran, 57, of Clermont, Florida, has pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud for moving more than $3.9 million in customer payments out of a Seminole County business and into her own accounts. Federal prosecutors say she ran the theft for years from a job where she oversaw accounting and operations, spent the money on clothing, travel, dining, entertainment and consumer electronics, and also took out more than $1.5 million in loans in the company’s name. The court has already ordered her to forfeit about $3.9 million. Her prison term has not been decided.
Small companies that hand the books to one trusted employee face the question this case raises. Kieran did not only move money. As the person overseeing accounting, she also produced the financial statements the owners relied on, and prosecutors say she used that position to keep both the owners and the company’s tax preparer uninformed. A business that cannot name who checks the person recording its cash has the same gap, whatever its size…