“A former bookkeeper embezzled $9.9 million, forcing her company to make layoffs while she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet . . . Annette Yeomans spent at least $240,000 on 400 pairs of shoes, $300,000 on designer clothing and 160 purses valued at $2,000 each . . . A bedroom in her San Marcos home was remodeled into a clothes closet and boasted a granite-covered center island, crystal chandelier and 32-inch plasma television.”
“Do these ten million embezzled dollars make my a** look fat?”*
There is so much that’s so terribly wrong about the above story (not to mention its featured players), it’s hard to know where to start:
1.) The article states that the woman was a trusted employee and so her work was never questioned and no one investigated the dwindling funds of the company. So, in effect, she ripped off $10,000,000.00 from people who trusted her and were probably her “friends” . . . nice.
2.) The embezzling went on for six years. She watched fellow employees get laid off due to the company’s financial difficulties, but kept right on with her spending sprees. If they hadn’t caught her, she probably would have killed the company outright, like some lethal, designer-branded parasite that drains its host dry and then moves on in search of shinier accessories.
3.) By the time she was caught, Ms. Yeomans had 400 pairs of shoes, 160 handbags, racks of new clothing, boxes of fashion jewelry and a former bedroom that she had remodeled into her own private dressing room. The assets were seized (including the house and a few cars) and sold off, but that only brought in just over $2,000,000.
Seeming moral to the story: there is no such thing as an “investment piece” when it comes to fashion.
I can hear you asking, “But wtf happened to the other $8,000,000.00? And didn’t anyone she worked with ever stop to consider how she could possibly afford all her high-end shoes, bags, clothes, cars and remodeling projects on an accountant’s salary?”
The answer to the first question: she made regular shopping trips to Italy, and she liked to gamble (Yeomans is believed to have gambled away $6 million). The answer to the second: people can be really really (really!) oblivious. Like, really.
For example: her husband also worked for the company as a cabinet installer “but was not suspected of any crime . . . ‘I think he just simply believed that she made a good wage and that she received bonuses and was being compensated well for the work that she did,’ said Sgt. Mark Varnau.”
Like I said, oblivious.
But there’s always a silver lining: “Yeomans faces 20 felony counts of embezzlement and grand theft … (she could) face 40 years in prison if tried and convicted of all current charges, and more charges could be added as the investigation of her spending continues.”
Apparently, authorities aren’t convinced they yet know the full extent of the financial havoc this woman wrecked. She’s, like, a little Bernadette Madoff.
Note: I think the Yeomans/Madoff parallel is what’s known in some circles as Microcosm Theory.
{ 10 comments }
I am petty…but I appreciate the picture link for little Bernadette. Looks like she’ll be singing, with no song for her.
I emerge back into the world to find it is snafu. Hmmph. Off to find some of the wonder…
Boy, accounting sure pays well…
That is…seriously amazing. Didn’t anyone check the accounting at all over the last six years? I’ve heard a few good fraud stories through the years, but that’s easily the most brazen that I’ve heard.
Besides – bookkeepers are supposed to be frumpy. Shouldn’t her glam threads been a tip-off???
Management should take some of the blame as well IMHO.
Shelley: I thought the link to the photo was highly deserving. God knows how many of her co-workers’ lives she harmed and/or ruined.
Wait, was that a Leonard Cohen reference you just made . . . ?
And Thomas: I feel the same way. I mean, c’mon! $10,000,000.00? That’s a lot of zeros to not miss. I’m all for trusting people, but there comes a point where it turns from trust into sheer and brazen stupidity on the part of the owners of the company. I don’t blame them for what she did, but when you’re having to fire people and restructure your entire company, wouldn’t you be going over the books a little more thoroughly by that point?
And I also find it difficult to believe that her husband didn’t know what was going on. The woman was sporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in clothing and accessories, remodeling the house and purchasing new cars while gambling away millions at local Casinos. And no one in her life put two and two together? Is it possible that she was surrounded by so many clueless people?
In defense of the husband, many men have no idea how much designer shoes/purses/clothing really cost, so he might not have understood the scope of the situation. But surely the owner/manager of the company should have been paying closer attention!
That’s a very good point — he was probably thinking, “Okay, those are nice, but she doesn’t seem to be breaking the bank account with all her purchases, so all is well.”
But surely it should have raised an eyebrow (or two) when she remodeled one of their extra bedrooms and turned it into a shoe and bag shrine . . . ? I mean, there’s not knowing the cost of an item, and then there’s just ignoring that there’s 400 of these said items sitting in a newly remodeled upstairs room, replete with granite topped center counter and crystal chandelier, surrounded by hundreds of handbags and racks of obviously very nice clothes.
That seems to require an almost superhuman suspension of disbelief.
Darn! Looks like I missed out on the yard sale!
I agree with Tara in her defense of the hubby and also that the powers that be of the company did not realize how much $$$ was being lost – so to speak.
~Dawn
LOL! I have to admit that one of my first thoughts upon reading the article was, “What? They won’t be putting everything up for auction on eBay?!”
Well, my BF who is an experienced designer purse buyer would have noticed immediately – he can spot a Bottega from 50 paces.
I agree the granite countertop should have been a dead giveaway.
Accounting sure pays well? In her case yes. In my case, no! And I am happy it does not pay off. WTF was she thinking screwing the company and being responsible for all the lay offs? One sure lives well in wealth, even though it aint her moolah, while the rest of the posse can get laid off. In this case, the shirt is closer than the pair of pants. Speaking of SO’s or DH’s: my hubby knows right away what the cost of designer clothes is and the additional designer gadgets. So if I would pile up only 10 pair of shoes he would be suspicious. Guess that means I should not shop for designer clothes tomorrow in Milan.
Accountants the world over are reading this story and thinking, “Are we really the only ones who have any idea how much it costs to run a business . . . or buy a pair of shoes?”
Say hello to Milan for me!