MOBILE, Ala. (NBC 15) — One City of Mobile employee has been fired and two others placed on paid administrative leave as the City investigates how $14.7 million was stolen, Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said.
In a statement, Cheriogotis said the theft involved a fraudster impersonating a legitimate vendor and building trust with City employees through emails, documents and phone calls. Based on what the City knows so far, he said, its IT systems were not compromised and the theft did not result from an employee clicking a bad link.
“Nothing we have learned suggests this was an ‘inside job,’” Cheriogotis said. He said the City will not identify the employees, citing their safety, and that he is angry about the loss of taxpayer money. He asked the public to direct its anger at the criminals…