Check out this handmade sign posted to the front door of a shuttered Jimmy John’s sandwich chain shop in Missouri last week. See if you can tell from the store owner’s message what happened.
If you guessed that someone in the Jimmy John’s store might have fallen victim to a Business Email Compromise (BEC) or “CEO fraud” scheme — wherein the scammers impersonate company executives to steal money — you’d be in good company.
In fact, that was my initial assumption when a reader in Missouri shared this photo after being turned away from his favorite local sub shop. But a conversation with the store’s owner Steve Saladin brought home the truth that some of the best solutions to fighting fraud are even more low-tech than BEC scams.
Visit any random fast-casual dining establishment and there’s a good chance you’ll see a sign somewhere from the management telling customers their next meal is free if they don’t receive a receipt with their food. While it may not be obvious, such policies are meant to deter employee theft.
The idea is to force employees to finalize all sales and create a transaction that gets logged by the company’s systems. The offer also incentivizes customers to help keep employees honest by reporting when they don’t get a receipt with their food, because employees can often conceal transactions by canceling them before they’re completed. In that scenario, the employee gives the customer their food and any change, and then pockets the rest.
You can probably guess by now that this particular Jimmy John’s franchise — in Sunset Hills, Mo. — was among those that chose not to incentivize its customers to insist upon receiving receipts. Thanks to that oversight, Saladin was forced to close the store last week and fire the husband-and-wife managers for allegedly embezzling nearly $100,000 in cash payments from customers.
Saladin said he began to suspect something was amiss after he agreed to take over the Monday and Tuesday shifts for the couple so they could have two consecutive days off together. He said he noticed that cash receipts at the end of the nights on Mondays and Tuesdays were “substantially larger” than when he wasn’t manning the till, and that this was consistent over several weeks.
Then he had friends proceed through his restaurant’s drive-thru, to see if they received receipts for cash payments.
“One of [the managers] would take an order at the drive-thru, and when they determined the customer was going to pay with cash the other would make the customer’s change for it, but then delete the order before the system could complete it and print a receipt,” Saladin said.
Saladin said his attorneys and local law enforcement are now involved, and he estimates the former employees stole close to $100,000 in cash receipts. That was on top of the $115,000 in salaries he paid in total each year to the two employees. Saladin also has to figure out a way to pay his franchisor a fee for each of the stolen transactions.
Now Saladin sees the wisdom of adding the receipt sign, and says all of his stores will soon carry a sign offering $10 in cash to any customers who report not receiving a receipt with their food.
Many business owners are reluctant to involve the authorities when they discover that a current or former employee has stolen from them. Too often, organizations victimized by employee theft shy away from reporting it because they’re worried that any resulting media coverage of the crime will do more harm than good.
But there are quiet ways to ensure embezzlers get their due. A few years back, I attended a presentation by an investigator with the criminal division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who suggested that any embezzling victims seeking a discreet law enforcement response should simply contact the IRS.
The agent said the IRS is obligated to investigate all notifications it receives from employers about unreported income, but that embezzling victims often neglect to even notify the agency. That’s a shame, he said, because under U.S. federal law, anyone who willfully attempts to evade or defeat taxes can be charged with a felony, with penalties including up to $100,000 in fines, up to five years in prison, and the costs of prosecution.
There are people who really eat at Jimmy John’s? Wow!
/S
Ah, just saw the Sarcasm ‘signal’ … rotten bastards should do time.
“Sarcasm” signal??
Please explain if you don’t mind.
“/s” in a post indicates sarcasm.
Thank you! I was also unaware of this 🙂
Thomas
If you ever see /S after a comment that means it should be interpreted as sarcasm. These are necessary because most people are too dumb to comprehend the joke. The /S helps clue them in before they offer a rambling, superfluous reply
/s
I wouldn’t want to eat in Jimmy’s John either
I know, right?! YYYUUUUCCCKKK!!!
lol…. I went once, saw the steak’um for steak subs. When I asked if they used frozen wafer steak and he replied yes….. I replied thanks but I want REAL steak if I’m paying $12 for a sub.
Agreed they suck!
I understand that everyone has their own opinions and the right to express them. There happens to only be 2 sandwiches I love at Jimmy John’s but I get one every week on my day off with a large chocolate chunk cookie. My only point is that the world would be so vanilla and beige if everyone loved the same things. We’d all be eating the same foods while wearing the same clothes while driving the same cars, listening to the same music, as we to go pick up our identical spouses. Yawn!
Well put. Frankly, I love the #10.
First and last, Morton, IL
Just the once, never again.
No one seems to have noticed these two thieves were being paid over 100,000 a year! Is that typical fast food management pay? And they still stole? SMH
I read it as $115K _together_, so just under $58K per person.
Still, that’s a lot of money for fast food employees.
They were store managers. Having to cover for whenever employees reported sick and they could not find another. Probably hiring as well etc. So manager job.
No it isn’t?
Correct
That was for the both of them that’s only 50,000 each
Only? That’s pretty good money for restaurant work.
No it’s really not a lot of money. Restaurant work is HARD. I went and got a “real job” as you fools call it, and I make more and my job is 95% easier than working in a restaurant. A fair wage does not make it “a lot of money for a restaurant worker”
Probably working 70 hrs a week easy for 50k for fast food joint.
“That was on top of the $115,000 in salaries he paid in total each year to both employees.”
I think their total combined income was $115k. So, ~57k each. I’d say that’s probably normal for fast food managers.
At first thought, I, too, thought, wow, that’s a lot for fast food pay ..but I re-read…
“on top of the $115,000 in salaries he paid in total each year to both employees.”
Second reading I noticed the ” in total each year for both…
So, I guess about $57,500.00 per year? Each…
I think the writer meant they’re paid that much combined. It’s a common grammatical error to use both, as was done here. It should have been written something like this: ‘the couple was paid a combined salary of more than $100,000’.
$115k in total.
Divide by 2
It looks like they were being paid something like 50,000 each. They were a couple so over 100,000 together. And yeah that’s about right.
I don’t know how much you make but in case you didn’t know that these days 100.000 is truly equal to 60.000!
Never underestimate the depths of human greed….sad.
Pretty sure their combined salary is the number referenced. That would be crazy if it was 100k+ each!
Might as well been 100k each since they stole almost the same amount as their salary.
That was their combined salaries. It was a husband and wife team. So, that comes out to be 57,500 each. I can’t imagine a scenario in Missouri where a household income of over 100k would make them even consider such a stupid act.
$115,000 between 2 managers isn’t significant at all. Especially considering the cost of pretty much everything nowadays. I make more than $115k alone and it’s definitely FAR from what it used to be.
They were only being paid 50k each. There were two of them. Maybe if they were paid a real wage they wouldn’t steal
what is the minimum wage for not stealing? Do you think these people would be like, “nah, I make $60k/year, I’m not gonna skim money from the boss”? If they are stealing $100k each, does that mean the company should pay them at least that much just to stop them from stealing?
Last question… Do you know how stupid you sound?
“Luck” is where preparation meets opportunity. Work hard at any job, learn everything you can, contribute all you can. You are preparing for the unknown. Opportunities are all around you, but will not present themselves to the lazy individuals that are worried about doing more than you have to. If you want to rely on a Jeff B union to secure your future, you will never reach your potential, especially if you listen to his “sit on your a$$ attitude”. Jeff will never get “lucky” and the union will not save him. DON’T BE A JEFF AMERICA
Lmao….what is being a Jeff??…do tell, must know!!!!
Please advise if discovered
“Jeff B” = Jeff Bezos
How much is Amazon paying you to spout this nonsense?
No u end up with right to work, jobs that are easy automated and good paying ones go to china…unions got greedy but they are a way of leveling the playing field and one day the union members lock arms we will then stop corporate GREED.
unions got greedy…stop corporate GREED
One form of greed for another…oh boy what a great deal….
I absolutely agree with you, to many cheating people these days, no honesty and loyalty to anyb, even to themselves
Take legal action against them. Thus gives other workers a way to scam other businesses. I wouldn’t worry about the negative attention. People who li k e the u r choice of food don’t want to see them go away. Customers would not want to their favorite food to g ok away. Hiw greedy cN you be. Fry their butts. Hopefully jail time z x restitution. I’m sorry you were scammed by undesirerable people. Stop it NOW b4 it spreads. Good luck
I’ve seen this happen at a dentist’s office, the office manager getting away with $100k over a year and a half. She didn’t get any time in the big house. We heard because the dentist had to call customers and get affidavits that cash was paid and how much. We had always paid cash, so there’s that. Of course we couldn’t produce copies of receipts because we were losers back then. Nowadays I keep strict records on a network drive that even the IRS would be proud of, lol. I never forgot the dentist who was the most expensive in the area, and his unruly manager who was also the most expensive in the area. “Trust, but verify” has been my motto in my work, and it’s been helpful.
Not keeping receipts from the dentist makes me a loser? Lol
Wow. I can’t believe it took this long for fast food companies to figure this out. Myself and a few other delinquents were pulling the exact same scam all the way back in the late 80s at a McDonald’s franchise. Back then we would”zero out” a transaction using a “partial cancellation” option on an order. We couldn’t void the entire transaction so we would add a free “senior coffee” to the order and then delete all of the other items. It was clumsy but effective. It forced my 16 year old brain to figure out how to make change without the assistance of the register. I recall specifically pocketing enough in one weekend to enable me to buy an Alpine CD player for my car.
Exactly how it’s done! I’ve witnessed it myself
And the thought that you are a thief. Doesn’t bother you?
Well, aren’t you special!
But then your drawer is short the amount of change you give to the customer. It only truly works if the customer is paying with exact change then you don’t get caught.
Couldn’t customers lie and say they didn’t get a receipt when they did, in fact, get one?
I doubt they will check the cameras for it. Sounds like a lose lose situation here with no way to win.
The owner has a financial incentive to check both the point of sale and the cameras. I’d certainly spend a couple minutes doing due diligence before handing someone $10. And the mere proposition of “okay, let’s double check the camera footage” may be enough to cause a lying customer to back away from their claim.
Employers are required to report employees incomes not be a cop and report employees making money off the books. I think that’s where the confusion is and is why employers don’t contact the IRS who would more then likely tell them to contact the local authorities. In other words should everyone call the IRS on someone stealing from them because the perpetrator is making unreported income? Lol I think not
The IRS has a task force that is covered by federal crime and can stream line to process straight to federal prison if enough evidence is available with little to no help from local law enforcement. Sometimes called the economic crime unit if a municipal has the resources
Going the criminal route may result in little jail time, if any, or community service. And if any conviction requires restitution and they don’t have the money, they default any pay nothing. Their banking records will be subpoenaed to determine if they can pay. But if they are smart embezzlers, and they are not, they launder or hide the proceeds. My bet is on the Good Ole IRS.
Restitution default is not in their language.
I’m sure the DA’s office forensic accountants are quite competent bur not as scary as having the IRS on your tail. Potential prison, payment plans that last years and or salary garnish anyone? Prison will be miserable, if they go, but getting hit in the pocketbook is horror, as anyone may know.
Also, if the owner makes the case known to the workers, it’s great incentive for employees to not even think about embezzlement. To hell with negative publicity. Other companies may follow this route and begin their own protection plans.
These people cannot slide. They have to go one way or another. Failing to prosecute crime is incentive to keep doing it. I hope the owner sees the light.
I used to work for Eastman Kodak in a previous lifetime, and they trusted field service techs with self-reimbursement checks that were good for up to $10,000 every two weeks. Once or twice a year we’d get some smarty pants who thought he’d scam a few thousand from the company. If it was under 10K, the company wouldn’t prosecute, they’d just fire them and make them ineligible for rehire, but then at the end of the year send them a 1099 so they’d have to deal with the IRS for taxes on that money. I guess they figured that would be punishment enough.
There are a lot of places it is difficult to get a receipt. Excuses like we are out of register paper, we just ran out (but there were no customers in front of you so you know they are lying). I always wondered why those stupid franchises dont have testers.
These pple making 50k a year on fast food wages yet I’m barely making 300 a week
Whose fault is that?
Alex, they also work 60 + hours a week.
Ok if he’s paying $10 to customer who say they ain’t get they receipt.How is that going to work when a employee can give them the receipt they still can say they ain’t get one just to get the cash this go be a big problem soon or later
I was wondering about the “$10 cash if you don’t get a receipt”. Sounds easy to scam. However, if a restaurant offers a $10 food coupon reward, their cost of production is very much less than that. Everyone wins.
How about watching people over the years accuse managers for taking deposits ? You would think that just because a manager has the authority and has a key to the store that they are allowed to come in a business that’s supposedly closed….but being told that you can go there if you were doing cleaning or of you needed to get something from the safe such as a phone charger or your wallet or my ring I left in there . I was a manager at a fast food place 8 months pregnant and working so hard and not having a day off pulling shifts that were 12 hours or more long. With having a doctor’s note this business called steak n shake in florida oldsnar city would ignore my doctor’s orders and told me if I called off I’d get fired and loose my job. Well so let it be that they let me go and accused me of taking 200 hundred dollars from the safe. On a day where I was having contractions and never showed up anywhere near the business. Because of the this my son was born at 32 weeks and in bad condition due to lungs not fully developed my job then fired me and on too of it accused and charged me with a charge. Please someone tell me this is ridiculous anyone have a suggestion on how or what I could do ?
The business can’t “charge you with a charge” only the police can do that, and they have to have sufficient evidence to do so. You’ll have a court appearance to prove your case; getting a lawyer is your best bet, both for the criminal charges and then you’ll need to file your own case stating that they violated FMLA by not allowing you time off for illness, which pregnancy is considered a protected class. Of course, you have to have been employed at least one year by the business to have FMLA protection; if you didn’t, then Florida is an at-will state and you have no recourse for being let go. You cannot prove your job caused your early delivery and your child’s medical issues. I’m sorry you are dealing with this. Also, I’d stop talking about either case online until they are resolved for your own prosperity. Good luck!
I would contact a lawyer. That’s discrimination. It’s illegal for your boss to even threaten to fire you for being pregnant. I found this link: https://fgbolaw.com/florida-pregnancy-laws-7-laws-you-need-to-know-about/#:~:text=The%20federal%20Pregnancy%20Discrimination%20Act%20(PDA)%20states%20that%20your%20employer,for%20any%20of%20these%20reasons.
I hope it helps.
Wrongful termination. Complaint to BBB.
Discrimination since you were pregnant and they fired you with Dr’s. notes to back you up.
Sue the for undo stress that put you and your baby severe danger that made you go into labor early.
My friends used to do the same thing when we worked at Pizza Hut!
Very good, put them in federal prison. Try looking into Milwaukee Wisconsin and there criminal activity.
More in come in the future… Yes, the irs criminal division makes good sense.. I don’t believe they can be paid off, can they.??
Millions missing, no one cares.. Certainly not the trustees, lawyers and banker’s.
The criminal networks are exstensive and very dangerous coming out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. Bikers, without patches….
I went to a nail salon to get a manicure and pedicure.When I went to pay the business wanted Cash.
I relayed I just pay with card,which they accepted and gave me a receipt. As I was leaving I was told “next time you pay cash.”
Well,No I won’t be back. It raised a “Red Flag” to me .
Makes me feel that this is a scam. Someone there is defrauding the government and should be reported to IRS.
So much stealing and short changing . I go in and tell the manager always .
Here in Sweden, all business are required by law to always provide a receipt and the tax administration regularely checks it/enforces it. That makes it harder to get away with something like this…
If a customer claims to not have been given a receipt when they in fact were, the manager can check the transactions at the register, find the one relating to the customers order (an easy thing to do), reprint the receipt and give it to the customer explaining that a receipt was printed which the customer must have overlooked.
Our McDonalds never gives receipts. Our Whataburger wont give one if you pay cash unless you demand it. I’ve always felt like it was because they were pocketing the cash either for themselves or so the store can evade income tax.
Years ago I worked with a girl who voided out cash transactions like this in a ritzy department store. Not to this extent as she only worked a few months. I didn’t realize what she was doing, but thought she was shifty. They caught her and embarrassed her quite publicly to make an example of her.
He probably shouldn’t own any business. Firstly, his total sales and the inventory ought to track each other. If he couldn’t see money was missing based on inventory going out, he’s in the wrong business. Secondly, it is hard to believe he was forced to suddenly close for a weekend or whatever, due to loss of cash sales alone, which I’ve been going on for years.
It’s more likely that the shop needed to close because they lost two managers and didn’t have staffing to cover that, so they picked the least busy days to close early.
Wow. A similar scam was pulled on me by one of my employees when I ran a PC repair shop in Danville, Illinois. The employee would conduct the repairs/labor on the computer, and even print the invoice, but would then void it out after the customer payed cash.
When my wife suspected there was a problem, she looked to the audit trail of Quickbooks Pro, and found it all recorded. It was especially tough because the employee stealing from us was also a friend. But, we had to fire him. Fortunately, we caught it early, and he only stole about $300-$400 before we caught it.
In Ecuador the tax authorities regularly send testers to businesses to check that they give receipts to customers. If a business gets caught they are closed, one week for 1st offense, two weeks for 2nd offense.
Not sure how they we where able to pull off this feat when 80/90 Percent of most store income is Credit cards, they did this to days a week. that mean they had to take 2k a day witch i do not see happening on Monday and Tuesday being the Slowest day of the week
Not sure how they we where able to pull off this feat when 80/90 Percent of most store income is Credit cards, they did this two days a week. that mean they had to take 2k a day witch i do not see happening on Monday and Tuesday being the Slowest day of the week
It was not suggested that Monday and Tuesday were the only days this was done. The store owner taking over those two days was only the way he found out.
It just don’t have it just don’t happen at restaurant it happened at convenience stores also especially the Big chain like 7-Eleven it happens to me at 7-Eleven a lot I always ask for my receipt be aware.
As long as owners continue to exist and steal profit created by the works these sorts of actions by employees are justified.
This kind of ignorant thinking is just criminal justification. Nobody has sympathy when you’re rotting in jail. Even as a liberal and progressive… you people give the rest of us a bad name.
I get the scam, just not the first part of the article. How is this a business email scam? This has nothing to do with impersonating an executive, let alone their email, to steal money from a company. Not sure why this article thinks it is, and would of thought that from the note. Nor why they think it was confirmed by talking to the business. A scam, fraud, sure. I don’t see how this is even remotely like any BEC/CEO Fraud scam. What am I missing?
The story clearly says BEC was our initial suspicion upon reading the sign (not having spoken yet with the person who wrote that message), but that BEC was not the culprit here. I’m not sure how you could have come away with a different impression.
Love Jimmy Johns!!
$57,000 is a great salary for a sub shop.
I worked for medical facility and never made close to that.
They need to be prosecuted and have to serve time. They are such low lifes.
my sides are in orbit.
this happened to Linus of Linus Tech Tips, Relevante because cumulatively his organization is almost certainly the largest youtube-focused/specific media group, with multiple top 50 channels and at least 1 or 2 in the top 10…. basically since day 1 of youtube itself.
What did he say? $90,000 canadian?
Fake email pretending to be contractors working on his Youtube-millionaire house offering a discount to pay in full immediately (“Youtube-millionaire” just sounds funny even though its a completely valid and totally legitimate way to get rich)
Its worth listening to, as it also implicates the RCMP in behavior I actually consider surprising based on how they are typically characterized in the “…. like ___ in the USA” type of comparison that is required for all of us swathed in the warm of maximum FREEDOM and cultural hegemony.