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22 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 627 (2020-2021)
A Case for Diversionary Restorative Justice in Cases Involving the Embezzlement of Funds from Small Businesses

handle is hein.journals/cardcore22 and id is 647 raw text is: A CASE FOR DIVERSIONARY RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN CASES INVOLVING THE EMBEZZLEMENT OF FUNDS FROM SMALL BUSINESSES Amanda Cooper* I. INTRODUCTION In 2015, John Tschol, the owner of a small advising business in Bloomington, Minnesota, thought that he had a wonderful work life. His business was successful-enough to make a modest profit-and his employees were loyal, hard workers, who had been with him for years. Then he found out that his bookkeeper, Laura Scholz, had been embezzling funds, stealing more than $317,000 over two years.' Tschol had done what he could to prevent this from happen- ing. He scrutinized the credit card transactions for his company each month, paying careful attention to the finances. Nevertheless, his bookkeeper had found a way to avoid his scrutiny, and Scholz's crime went unnoticed until there was a wire transfer on the books that could not be reconciled. Even with the knowledge that some- thing suspicious was happening, Tschol, an independent business owner, still needed to consult with an outside accountant before he knew exactly how much had been stolen.2 Scholz had not only been taking money from the company she worked for, but had also stolen from banks, vendors, and rent pay- ments, leaving the company not only missing money but in debt.3 To this day, the reputation of Tschol's business remains compromised.4 In late 2015, Scholz was convicted of embezzlement and sen- tenced to six years in prison.5 Even with this conviction, Tschol has no hope of recovering the money that was stolen from him. He * J.D. Candidate 2021, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. 1 Mike Hanks, Embezzlement case an expensive lesson for business owner, SUN THISWEEK (May 26, 2016), hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/news/business/embezzlement-case-an-ex pensive-lesson-for-business-owner/article_8cb3cld-3458-55b4-81a9-9c4de59e7089.html. 2 Id 3 Id. 4 Id. 5 Id. 627