Please provide a response to my excerpt below.

Summary

A former - Macon, GA payroll clerk of the Milledgeville Housing Authority (MHA) admits and pleads guilty to embezzling over $575,000 by overpaying herself from taxpayer funds budgeted for the County's Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program.

Issue

The former payroll clerk, Jennifer Kay Smith eventually embezzled $575,014.50 by recording her payroll of 40 hours per week and adding vacation and sick leave time to accumulate more than 40 hours. Ultimately, in addition to her salary, she overpaid herself $40,000 in 2021 and more than $500,000 between January and August 2022.

Rule

According to Jennings (2022), embezzlement is "theft from a specific type of person...in the position of trust of the property owner" (p. 273). Based on a guilty plea of one count of federal program theft, Smith could face a maximum ten-year prison sentence with three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Analysis

Based on Ms. Smith's role as an MHA payroll clerk, she knowingly abused her position by overpaying herself for two years, resulting in substantial monetary losses to the MHA. Additionally, pleading guilty strengthens the state's case against her.

Conclusion

Based on the information provided in the article, Ms. Smith could face a significant amount of time in prison and own a large amount of money for her fines. This article involves theft and embezzlement which is a part of this week's chapter material, and it highlights the consequences of these actions.

References

Attorney's Office Staff. (2023, October 31). Former Housing Authority Payroll Clerk Admits to Stealing $575K. Retrieved from United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Georgia: HYPERLINK "https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/former-housing-authority-payroll-clerk-admits-stealing-575k" https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/former-housing-authority-payroll-clerk-admits-stealing-575kLinks to an external site.

Jennings, M. M. (2022). Business: Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment. Boston: Cengage. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780357447789/pageid/3" https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780357447789/pageid/3Links to an external site.