oneworld business manager Randy Wang, who was temporarily head of finance for the airline alliance, is being sued for stealing over $2.2 million.
The former Oneworld business manager once earned $159,000 and was even temporarily promoted to head of finance.
Oneworld discovered the hoax in September and fired Wang — who then allegedly set up a fake Web site posing as a Oneworld vendor and cashing in to the tune of $600,000, according to court papers.
Oneworld claims Wang even manipulated payroll records to avoid paying a measly $69 a paycheck for health insurance.
The allegedly fraudulent charges included:
- $577,161.92 from Amazon.com
- $468,925.64 from Data Vision Computer Video for 285 MacBook Pros; 236 iPhone 7s; 15 iPad Pro; and 9 iPad Mini-4s
- $570,306.15 from Apple.com plus $222,852.62 in-store
- $289,649.24 from CDW Corporation
- $85,508.55 from Micro Center
According to the complaint, in addition to stealing over $2 million, Wang loaded his health reimbursement account with an extra $1500. He even allegedly mamipulated payroll to avoid making $69 per pay period contributions towards his benefits. He also reportedly claimed $379.99 in flexible spending account reimbursements without actually contributing to his FSA.
He’s also claimed to have created a website to spoof one of oneworld’s vendors in order to invoice them and divert payments to his own account.
We learn through the complaint that oneworld uses QuickBooks for its accounting software. The software’s audit trail shows the employee removed detail on his corporate American Express charges from the system.
oneworld has about two dozen employees but was charged for over 500 computer items totaling $2.2 million. And, apparently, questionable internal controls.
Here’s a copy of the lawsuit (.pdf), the defendant’s employment agreement (.pdf), and an excerpt from oneworld’s employee handbook (.pdf). I’ve not posted some of the attachments to the suit with bank transfer information and emails.
According to oneworld he was a Business Manager, according to his online resume he was, a Business Analyst, Finance & Administration.
Not an auditor but involved with accounting softwares in my “real” job and the lack of controls in some companies is mind boggling. Not that surprised to see something like this
So not only was he embezzling, but he was almost certainly “manufacturing spend” by buying and reselling all of those electronics, right?
OK…yes, employee theft/embezzlement is very serious…
…but, at the same time, it’s kinda hard to overlook when airlines get a taste of their own shameful, and deceitful practices intentionally crafted to swindle passengers…
…or his nickle & diming oneworld alleges Wang did when he “manipulated payroll records to avoid paying a measly $69 a paycheck for his health insurance.”
Coming from an industry that now devotes most of its efforts to come up with ever more clever sadistic tricks to manipulate seats, cabin configurations, fare fences and many other sleazy sleights of hand just to get a measly few extra dollars, pounds, euros (etc.) pried out of travelers wallets, it’s kinda “fun” to see witness the airlines whine about being victimized by a swindler within their own ranks, when their business models have itself become predicted on using every trick in the book to screw people.
Especially when one of the most prominent of the airlines in oneword is led by jackals that only a year ago had the chutpah to boast about how hard they intended to ride/screw their passengers by demanding they “Show Us The ✈️-ffing Money” like BA did…
Much as I love airlines and air travel, it’s hard to feel sorry for them here after the many, many dirty, rotten, sleazy things they’ve aggressively pursued in recent years, and are probably now even as one reads this already salivating over whatever other intentional degradations, densifications, penalties and punishments they’ve already got queued up (like the taxi line at JFK Airport at 9pm after a hot summer afternoon filled with lines of repeated thunderstorms finally moves east towards the Hamptons!) for the future to “embezzle” ever more money from their passengers than they already do…
Now, if only passengers could do to the airlines to recover what was stolen from them what oneworld is doing to their alleged embezzling ex-employee…then life truly would be fair!!!
Hehehe…just kidding!!!
Oh, in the above, it was the predictive text gremlins who swapped “predicted” for the word my brain and fingers wanted to be “predicated”…
Yes, attempts are made to predict how business models will perform…
….but, of course, the approach used is more appropriately described as being “predicated”…
[with apologies for the unintended and unseen until it posted error…]
Great post Howard Miller!
Strong candidate for this president’s White House staff.
Hopefully they hang the Bastard out to dry and crush his Nuts as a gesture of “thanks for your Service”. Next thing You know Trump will Hire the Crook!
So what your all saying is that we can’t do this at work?
Sued and not prosecuted?
Oh, wait … China and the US do not have an extradition treaty. 😉
Howard Miller’s post is classic. And predictive type is frustrating.
Embezzlement is typically hard to prosecute if evidence is only circumstantial. But in this case Wang would at least take a plea bargain or put up a defense to explain how he was framed. He would not need to take the fifth if he is innocent. He would be very cooperative with the prosecutor.
Too bad he didn’t commit these crimes in Singapore. He would never do it again.