When Gail Waymire was indicted on charges of embezzling from local public television station WFWA, the allegations made news for days.
Such crimes tend to make headlines, more so than when an employee is accused of stealing from an average business.
When a trusted employee, at a trusted nonprofit, commits theft, it is almost like a double betrayal. Not only is the money taken from the entity, but since the entity often relies on donations from members of a community, in a very real way it can feel like the money was taken from the community itself.
Waymire, 58, pleaded guilty late last month to federal wire fraud charges, admitting to defrauding her employer, PBS 39. She will be sentenced later.
As part of her plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Waymire must pay an amount of restitution to be determined by the government at the time of her sentencing.
Court documents estimate the size of her fraud at $130,000.
The typical organization loses 5 percent of its revenues to fraud each year, according to Travelers Insurance. Background checks, while important, often do little to prevent the fraud because most occupational thieves are first-time offenders with clean criminal records and employment histories.
Recovering from internal theft can take time, especially for nonprofits. Restitution can be hard to collect, and rebuilding trust with donors can take a bit longer.