Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Restitution for employee theft - 50K+

Upon terminating an employee for poor job performance, we discovered that the employee was stealing. They appeared to have opened a company cc in their name under the main company account. Then proceeded to make personal purchases and pay them out of the company checking account. This person had bookeeping/payroll privelages.

We have contacted the local police and provided them with documents discovered in our internal audit totaling over 52,000 in charges.

Aside from the criminal charges that may eventually be made through the attorney general, can we file some sort of lien against the former employees property without hiring a lawyer to litigate a civil lawsuit?


Asked on 11/22/06, 11:42 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Kenneth J. Ashman Ashman Law Offices, LLC

Re: Restitution for employee theft - 50K+

Just went through this with another client. The employee stole approximately $8,000. She ultimately pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges, and my client collected nearly $65,000 in settlement. My firm took the case on a contingent fee basis.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman

www.AshmanLawOffices.com; 1-888-8Ashman; [email protected]

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Answered on 11/23/06, 3:41 pm
David K. Staub Staub Anderson LLC

Re: Restitution for employee theft - 50K+

The only way you can get a lien is to first get a judgment in a lawsuit. However, if the circumstances warrant it, you might be able to get a judge to freeze the ex-employee's assets. For example, if you could show that the employee bought a boat with corporate funds and you were worried that he would sell the boat and blow the money on a vacation and have nothing left, a judge might issue an injunction preventing the sale or disposition of the boat.

You cannot, however, take unilateral action. You will need to file a lawsuit.

David K. Staub, an Illinois business attorney

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Answered on 11/23/06, 1:15 am
Thomas Zimmerman Zimmerman Law Offices, P.C.

Re: Restitution for employee theft - 50K+

No. You need to obtain a judgment that you can execute on the employee's property. If you have proof of theft, obtaining a judgment should not be too difficult. We handle these types of cases either on a contingent fee basis or for an hourly rate. Call me at 312.440.0020 if you care to discuss this matter, or visit my website at www.attorneyzim.com. Tom Zimmerman.

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Answered on 11/23/06, 8:32 am


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