Feds: Brink's Employee Makes Off With $196,000 In Quarters (cnn.com)

dfsmith writes: CNN is reporting today on the prosecution of a man who stole $196,000 worth of quarters from his employer in Alabama. Apparently the Brinks facility kept large bags of the coins for the Federal Reserve (about 1 ton each), which the accused emptied and refilled with beads (leaving some coins visible in the bag's window). Dennis faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. That's a million-quarter fine, or 216,000 more quarters than Dennis stole.
Notwithstanding the enterprise of purchasing and transporting that many beads, you've got to wonder: how would you go about this heist, and what would you do with the proceeds?

Comments

Re:Makes off, my arse

[Anonymous Coward]

If this was a large company (like, say, Verizon) stealing from its customers, the fine would have been a fraction of the money stolen, and no jail time for anyone (except maybe the customer who discovered the theft, under anti-hacking laws).

Re:Makes off, my arse

[Kjella]

Well yes obviously someone would figure out sooner or later, but he was probably counting on them not finding out who and when. Or he was in some kind of money problem (gambling, drugs, whatever) and just did the kind of incredibly stupid crime you sometimes see which keeps their world from collapsing today. The same kind of "can't think about that" like the people who throw bills in the trash or keep sending money to Nigeria.

A lot of people are simply dysfunctional that way, like they have a fear of the dentist. And they know the longer it's been since they was at the dentist, the more likely he'll find something really bad. So the problem just escalates until it becomes a huge crisis. You see that a lot with "dumb" embezzlement, now you not only got a gambling problem but for a few months delay you're now also an unemployed, convicted felon.

Rationally it doesn't make sense, how much worse it's going to be compared to the relatively short and small gain you got. But I guess it's something of a survival trait, if life's fucked up you care about living one more day. And then another one, and then the one after that. Sometimes not having perspective is good for motivation, because there's nothing in your prospects to be cheerful about. You just carry on anyway.

So wait

[wardrich86]

When an average guy steals money, he gets fined more than what he stole AND jail time... but when a corporation steals money, they get fined a fraction of what they stole and a slap on the wrist? America - what an amazing country.

Re:Makes off, my arse

[houghi]

Although gambling can be a reason, more likely it is just being very bad with money. The kind of bad where people buy a new iPhone and a new TV and new handbags and the newest sneakers and then say they do not have enough money for food.

Many people never learn how to count money. People do not even understand what a credit is. These are people who think that a credit of 2000 is their money they must use.

In school (in Belgium) I learned how to trasfer money. I learned how a bank account is made up and how the control number worked. I never learned what a credit or a loan was. I never learned how to do a busget.

I am lucky that I learned that at home. Not all parents know it themselves and thus are unable to explain it to their kids.
Basic budgetting skils should be learned in schools.
This would still mean some people would not understand it, but way less than what is happening now.

You will be amazed at how many people do not even know the difference between a loan and a credit, yet they are maxing out their credit cards like nobodies business. One trip and you are fucked.

Issue is, where would you go to when you have financial problem? Most go to a bank. And then get fucked over AGAIN, because the bank does not work for them, they work for the bank.