Reference no: EM133416036 , Length: Words Count:250
Assignment:
Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun was arrested on July 2, 2013, at her home in Connecticut on charges of wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. She is accused of stealing jewelry from Tiffany & Co., her former employer, and reselling the pieces for more than $1.3 million. Lederhaas-Okun was vice president of product development, which allowed her to "check out" jewelry from Tiffany's for work-related purposes. Between November 2012 and February 2013, when her position was terminated, Lederhaas-Okun allegedly checked out more than 165 pieces of jewelry and did not return them. When it completed a company-wide inventory review, Tiffany's discovered the jewelry was missing.
Lederhaas-Okun claimed that she had left some of the jewelry in an envelope in her office and that some had been lost or damaged. An envelope with jewelry was not found during an office search. There were records that she resold the jewelry. There were emails between Lederhaas-Okun and a jewelry reseller on her work computer. She also signed documents with the reseller stating that the items were her own personal property. Lederhaas-Okun allegedly checked out items valued at under $10,000 because she knew the company took a daily inventory of all checked-out items worth more than $25,000. Assume the government files charges against Lederhaas-Okun for wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property in your court. Interstate transportation of stolen property is covered by 18 U.S. Code § 2314 Wire fraud is covered by 18 U.S. Code § 1343.
In a minimum of 250 words, please respond to the following:
1. How would you decide this case if your group were the judge and jury? Be certain that you explain and justify your answer. After analyzing the above statutes, be certain that you define wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property and include the elements of these crimes as part of your answer.
2. What additional information would you like to have? Should she be charged with additional federal and/or state crimes? Why?
3. From a management perspective, is Tiffany responsible for the thefts? What checks should Tiffany add to prevent similar thefts in the future? What might inventory control techniques be more effective?