Heidi Facchini, RN, fits the profile of an embezzler to an astounding degree. Ms. Facchini, the former nursing supervisor of the North Fullerton Surgery Center in Montclair, N.J., pleaded guilty last month to stealing what some say is more than $900,000 from the ASC through misuse of company credit cards and thefts from company bank accounts over a 4-year period (www.outpatientsurgery.net/news/2010/12/24).

Embezzlers are usually female, in their mid-40s, and trusted and treated like a relative, says Chris Marquet, founder and CEO of Marquet International, a Boston-area investigation firm, and creator of the FraudTalk blog ().

Ms. Facchini? The married mother of 2 is 43. She was the first person the surgeons at North Fullerton hired when they built their 1-OR facility back in 2002 and the last person they thought would betray them. "When you think of a con job, con stands for confidence," says Mr. Marquet. "You have to gain trust."

Embezzlers often take few or no vacations. "For schemes to work, embezzlers need to be around to collect the checks that are coming in," says Mr. Marquet. They like to take work home with them. Theirs are the only hands on the controls of the company's finances. Ms. Facchini was the only person at the surgery center who knew how to work the QuickBooks accounting software, a source told us.

Embezzlers are slow and steady in their stealth. On average, the skimming goes on, little by little, barely perceptible, for 4.5 years. "When they don't get caught, they get bolder, stealing bigger amounts with more frequency," says Mr. Marquet. Ms. Facchini? She admitted stealing from January 2005 until she left the center last February.

A surprising number of embezzlers are drawn to hospitals and surgery centers like moths to a flame. Of the 480 cases of embezzlement of more than $100,000 that Mr. Marquet reviewed in 2010, 37 (7.7%) involved healthcare entities.

"Small healthcare organizations are victimized because you usually only have 1 person responsible for the accounting," says Mr. Marquet. "This person has all the levers and can work all sides of the equation." This unfettered access and control gives them the time and the freedom to rob you blind by:

• creating phony vendors and submitting fraudulent invoices for payment;
• issuing themselves extra paychecks and bonuses through the payroll system;
• forging checks;
• using the company credit card to purchase and pay for personal items; and
• filing false expense reports.

Stop and take a look around your center. Anybody fit the profile of an embezzler?