Working Time Fraud | Expense Fraud Dortmund

The relationship between field staff, drivers, external contractors and the employing company is based on trust. The lack of supervision and the relative independence of these professional groups tempt some individuals to pass private expenses on to the company – repairs to a daughter’s car invoiced via the company vehicle, journeys to visit grandmother, a rendezvous declared as a business dinner and so forth. Matters become even more serious when field representatives fail to attend their appointments altogether, effectively perform no work, and nevertheless submit full expense claims. This constitutes fraud, more precisely expense fraud – a criminal offence and, in the long term, a considerable detriment to the company.

 

If you believe you have fallen victim to expense or working time fraud, the commercial detectives of Kurtz Investigations Dortmund will be pleased to assist you: +49 231 8401 0065. We conduct investigations within the suspect’s environment and, where necessary, place them under surveillance in order to provide you with certainty.

Customer Complaints about Field Representatives | Dortmund Detectives Investigate

A case example of expense fraud, with the affected company once again being Müller KG (see social benefit fraud):

 

Mr Muster (all names changed) worked in field sales and received job sheets from his company’s branch office each Friday for the following week. The customers listed had fixed six-monthly appointments which Mr Muster was required to keep and document. In theory, therefore, he was visiting customers from Monday to Thursday and was thus not directly accessible to his employer, virtually “out of control”. As later revealed by the investigations of Kurtz Detective Agency Dortmund, Mr Muster was only too happy to exploit this circumstance frequently.

Man Waiting with Glance at Wristwatch in Restaurant; Dortmund Private Detective, Dortmund Detective Agency, Dortmund Detective

Stood-Up Customers | Surveillance of the Customer Adviser by Detectives in Dortmund

It was only after approximately six months, when customer complaints regarding Mr Muster began to accumulate, that the employer took notice. Evidently, the field representative had failed to attend several appointments. The company owner, Mr Müller, contacted Kurtz Investigations Dortmund by telephone and requested that we take over the case. Our experienced investigators commenced preliminary enquiries and devised an operational plan. Mr Müller instructed his staff to contact the customers who had been stood up once more in order to arrange new appointments with them. In addition, Mr Muster was to visit two new clients. The customers were asked to telephone the branch office after their respective appointments to report whether and when Mr Muster had attended.

 

After Mr Muster had received his job sheet from branch management on Friday, he got into his vehicle on Monday and drove – allegedly – to his first customer. Our detectives from Dortmund followed him on that and the subsequent days of the week. It quickly became apparent that Mr Muster had no difficulty whatsoever in failing to attend appointments, even repeatedly. In total, he visited not even half of the addresses listed on his job sheet; of the purported new clients, he called on only one. Instead, during working hours he pursued private activities, ran personal errands or simply remained at home. After five days of surveillance, our qualified Dortmund private detectives compiled a comprehensive body of evidence admissible in court and handed it over to Mr Müller for further action.

Falsified Timesheet; Detective Dortmund, Detective Agency Dortmund, Commercial Detective Dortmund

This is what the subject’s timesheets looked like. As the field representative failed to attend most of his appointments, he naturally generated no orders, damaged the company’s reputation and caused salary costs for his employer.

Summary Dismissal for Working Time Fraud

Evidently, the subject was content with his basic salary, as the field representative generally preferred to spend a comfortable day at home rather than earn commission through active customer acquisition. He completed his timesheets at his own discretion and submitted them at headquarters on Fridays – apparently without the slightest concern. The result of his fraudulent conduct: following the investigations of Kurtz Detective Agency Dortmund, the branch manager of Müller KG summoned Mr Muster to his office, confronted him with his knowledge of his working practices and handed him written notice of summary dismissal.

Note

In order to safeguard discretion as well as the personal rights of clients and subjects, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.