Employee Theft

Employee theft costs retailers billions of dollars per year. According to 2002 statistics, businesses loose more to employees who steal than from shoplifters. There are numerous ways employees can steal from their employers, ranging from just pocketing money or merchandise to “fixing the books.” It is estimated that in 2002, almost one third of bankruptcies were the result of employees stealing from their employer,

Maine law regarding Employee Theft

17-A MRSA 15. Theft

A number of crimes have all been consolidated under the crime of theft. Included is theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. This section covers instances where an employee takes property, merchandise or money from a business without permission.

17-A MRSA 37. §903. Misuse of entrusted property

“A person is guilty of misuse of entrusted property if he deals with property that has been entrusted to him as a fiduciary, or property of the government or of a financial institution, in a manner which he knows is a violation of his duty and which involves a substantial risk of loss to the owner or to a person for whose benefit the property was entrusted”.