Several times I have thought about employees embezzling and taking from businesses — feeling they are justified, feeling its earned. Many business and cities, schools, etc. have had it happen to them. This hits home to me as our business went through embezzling also. Over a three-year period, an office employee took more than $300,000.

This happened when I was taking care of my husband until he died in 2012. The shock of the extent almost took our business out. The Iowa Attorney General helped so much to investigate for a year. The charges were 10 counts of forgery for taking credit cards out in my name, maxing them out, signing my name. In pleading guilty to two counts, we are left with eight we can still charge. Our county attorney was and still is the most help.

We learned the attempt to pay back is nowhere because they decide the amount to pay each month. That is not enforced and they can decide they can’t work. I understand why not much can be done to them. We need tougher laws to enforce the problem. So many businesses, counties, schools etc. have this happen. The hard work in building a business and having so much taken it awful. I feel it shortened my husband’s life. These employees want what we have worked years to achieve. We gave up so much and didn’t take that long to lose so much. I am still very angry at seeing so many get away with it. At the rate of paying us back, it would take over 600 years.