Even Vending Machines Can Fall to the Hands of Fraud:
One of Australia’s leading vending machine distributors almost lost its largest clients before they were able to determine the root of the cause.
Floyd Grossman, a vending machine technician hired on a contractual basis, was employed at the company to stock soft drink vending machines in a given area, as well as transport the gained funds to the nearest depot.
Three months after hiring Mr Grossman, Iron Cast Pty Ltd, the vending machine distributor in question, received reports from its clients, stating that as a result of a steep decline in sales figures from Iron Cast’s products, they were seeking to employ the assistance of a different service provider. Iron Cast Pty Ltd, being a reputable and consistently reliable Australian business had no choice but to investigate the instigated national division and its associated, subcontracted staff.
Precise Investigation was specifically tasked with running an in-depth surveillance operation, to analyse Mr Grossman’s behaviour during work hours.
We stationed an operative at three stock locations in the area where Floyd was expected to carry out his duties and, with the help of our dedicated support team, we were able to have concrete proof of his gross misconduct successfully delivered to our client.
Mr Grossman was caught on camouflaged video surveillance cameras, fitting a home-made device to the inner workings of the machines, which was purpose-built to filter any inserted coins into a separate compartment of the unit. With his device in place, Floyd would regularly “stock the machines,” and simply claim that there were “no sales.” To avoid detection, Mr Grossman had “only” fitted the device occasionally, but over time, those occasions grew more and more frequent, often leaving it in place for weeks on end. Surprisingly, very few customers had made a complaint against the “problematic” machines and, with each rare case, Floyd was the contractor employed to service the error, which was always reported as having been repaired.
After reviewing the evidence, Iron Cast Pty Ltd immediately terminated Mr Grossman’s employment and replaced him with a more reputable employee.
Iron Cast Pty Ltd has since regained their market traction in all areas of their operations and continue to provide Australia with a superior level of service.
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Please note: The names and details of any people, places or companies described in this article have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
