Collection Law Firm Fires Employee Accused of Stealing $13K From Elderly Couple
A law firm has fired an employee accused of stealing a little over $13,000 from an elderly couple he apparently met while going door-to-door collecting past-due taxes for the city of Memphis, Tenn.
The employee is accused of accepting $13,273 in checks written to him personally by the couple between January 2007 and January 2011. An assistant Memphis city attorney says the couple thought they were paying taxes to the Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson employee, the Commercial Appeal reported.
In a written statement, the law firm said it began investigating and locked the worker out of the computer system as soon as it was aware of the allegations. He was subsequently fired, and the firm is reportedly expected to reimburse the couple and the city for their losses.
The claimed thefts came to light when relatives of the couple questioned why checks for tax bills were made payable to an individual.
Tax checks are supposed to be made payable to the city of Memphis.
