Office manager is a vital role. It’s important to fill this position with a trustworthy person because he or she holds the key to the castle—and sometimes much more.
Owner Greg Boyer of Greg Boyer Hawaiian Landscapes in Kaneohe, Hawaii, learned this the hard way. According to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office, Tamila A. Alcoran, who was hired as office manager in 2008, stole $1.3 million from Boyer between 2008-2014, KHON2 reports. The company has gone bankrupt as a result.
Alcoran was indicted by a grand jury on 311 counts, including identity theft, computer fraud, theft and forgery. She faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said Alcoran charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise and services to fraudulent credit cards. She opened the accounts using Boyer’s personal information, which destroyed his credit. She paid off those charges by diverting funds from the company’s bank account. She also allegedly tampered with the owner’s online investment portfolio, forged company checks, applied for fraudulent loans and funneled all the stolen money to a dummy corporation.
“Today’s indictment represents one of the worst cases of embezzlement against a small business that’s been prosecuted in recent memory,” prosecuting attorney Keith Kaneshiro told KHON2.
Alcoran, who also stole $40,000 in 2003 as treasurer of a youth soccer organization, reportedly pleaded guilty to the charges.
“The crimes in this case nearly destroyed the victim who spent 40 years building up his architecture and landscape business. It completely destroyed his credit. All of his credit cards were canceled. He can’t get a credit card now,” Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter told KHON2. “She certainly is a danger to employers and especially employers who put her in a position of trust and access to money. She is extremely manipulative, very deceptive, and is a person who knows financial matters and technology issues very well.”
Read the full story at KHON2’s website.
