Traveling for work can be quite glamorous. After all, it's not every day that a person gets to jet set on their company's dime. That's especially true for university and college employees. Budgets are often tight, and travel opportunities are typically quite limited in academia. When a college employee does get a chance to travel for work, they must be careful to track their spending. While employees of Fortune 500 companies can often get away with charging expenses to their company card with little scrutiny, university employees don't have that luxury.
In some cases, university employees who fail to adequately track their travel expenses may be accused of fraud. Travel expense fraud is a kind of asset misappropriation. At the extreme end, a person may have outright fabricated expenses or inflated the actual cost of things like gas, lodging, and airfare. Allegations of this kind of fraud can jeopardize a college employee's career and future.
What Defines Travel Expense Fraud?
When university employees travel, they're often limited in what they can spend on their school's dime. While mileage, airfare, and lodging are often paid for, smaller costs are often forgotten about. A flustered employee may find themselves using their expense account or school credit card a little too frequently. In many cases, college employees don't realize they've done anything wrong until months later – the median discovery time for this kind of fraud is 24 months.
Of course, there are genuine instances of fraud that occur among college employees. A dishonest person may opt to charge for items used for personal reasons. They may bill for travel expenses that never actually materialized, like canceled flight tickets or registration fees for conventions. Falsifying receipts and inflating gas mileage totals are other forms of travel expense fraud. So long as an individual has demonstrated a misappropriation of university funds, they may be held responsible for the fraud they attempted.
Examples of Travel Expense Fraud
Travel expense fraud can come in many forms. While dining out excessively on an employer's dime might spring to mind, there are other more serious instances to consider. College employees have been known to forge signatures, change dates, and alter travel documents. In more extreme cases, employees may work together to defraud employers over the span of several years. Some make fraudulent travel claims for trips that are never taken. While these are on the more extreme end of the spectrum, even the most minor instance of travel expense fraud can have long-reaching consequences.
Potential Consequences
It can take many months – or even years – for travel expense fraud to come to light. This may give some employees a false sense of security about defrauding their employers. As the indiscretions become a distant memory, university auditors begin closing in. By the time an investigation is launched, it is often too late for these employees to cover their tracks. The consequences, though delayed, are often significant. Those accused of travel expense fraud may see their jobs at risk. Their reputation also suffers. With public allegations attached to their names, these employees may struggle to shed their reputation for dishonesty. This can make it difficult to move on to a new role at a different institution.
Possible Defense Strategies
When a university suspects an employee has committed travel expense fraud, they'll typically launch a thorough investigation of the facts. An attorney-advisor can do the same, with the goal of uncovering evidence of a client's innocence. Supporting documents can really bolster an employee's claims, so it's important to comb over every expense report, receipt, and travel itinerary to reveal potential evidence. Armed with enough documentation, an attorney-advisor can go to work to clear their client's name.
Identifying instances of insufficient oversight is another possible defense strategy. When employees are left to their own devices, mistakes and errors are bound to occur. Universities must provide careful oversight of travel expense reports and not simply leave employees to their own devices. By pointing out gaps in oversight, an attorney-advisor can help demonstrate that the alleged fraud was actually the result of poor leadership.
How an Attorney-Advisor Can Help
Facing allegations of travel expense fraud can be intimidating. With your livelihood and reputation on the line, it's important not to go it alone. An experienced attorney-advisor can take swift action to protect your legal rights and defend your good name. Universities are often eager to make examples out of employees they believe defrauded the school. With an attorney-advisor on your side, you can protect your job and clear your name. You don't want to face off against your employer without help.
Contact the Lento Law Firm Now
If you've been accused of travel expense fraud, there's no time to wait. Attorney-advisor Joesph D. Lento can assess the allegations, collect evidence, and prepare a strong defense to clear your name. Contact the Lento Law Firm now at 888.535.3686 for more information.
