Lapping Scheme
Categories: Ethics/Morals
Um...the way a dog licks its own vomit?
Carla loves working at the Caffeine Hut. It’s a cash-only drive-thru purveyor of fine coffees and teas, which makes it really easy for Carla to pocket a little cash here and there without anyone ever being the wiser. When Customer Don comes through for his daily cup of joe, Carla rings up his sale but keeps the cash for herself. Then, when Customer Rigo comes through and pays for his daily fix, she rings up the sale and allocates the cash he pays toward Don’s sale. Then when the third customer goes through, she allocates their money toward the second sale, and so on. This kind of thievery is called a “lapping scheme,” and yes, before anyone asks, it’s fully illegal.
It’s also not going to last forever. Eventually, the accounts receivables records are going to be reconciled and the cash is going to come up short. Maybe Carla is hoping she’ll magically find some money somewhere that she can stick in the register before that happens, or maybe she’s counting on the Caffeine Hut’s owner overlooking it somehow. We don’t know, but we do know this: Carla’s lapping scheme, like that entire red velvet cake she ate in one sitting last night, is bound to catch up with her eventually.