A software engineer from Seattle who was reportedly largely influenced by the movie “Office Space” is facing charges after he allegedly pilfered over $300,000 from his former employer by editing the software.
Last Spring, Zulily.com noticed that there was an issue with the way their checkout system was operating.
According to reports, they learned that some of the charges from purchases and shipping fees were incorrect. They also found that the price of some of their merchandise had been lowered.
It was learned that the funds were taken and allegedly deposited into a bank account under the name of one of their software engineers.
The name on the account was that of a 28-year-old man from Tacoma who had worked for Zulily.com for approximately four years. He was fired from his position because of the accusations.
The company’s cybersecurity employees reported that they checked the files on the man’s laptop, and they noticed a suspicious document. It was entitled “Office Space project.”
The content reportedly outlined a plan to get away with stealing from the company similar to the way it was done in the movie “Office Space.”
It was reported that the man tweaked lines of code on the website. He also allegedly dropped the prices and purchased $41,000 worth of merchandise for “pennies on the dollar.”
Company investigators went to the man’s home, and they reported that he had boxes of merchandise that they believed were from the Zulily scam.
When he spoke to the police and was asked about the items, the man reportedly told them that the merchandise had been accidentally shipped to his residence, and he had not told the company about it. He reportedly said he did not go out of his way to bring the items back to the company because they fired him.
The man is facing charges of two counts of first-degree theft and one count of first-degree identity theft.
Zulily reported that they lost over $300,000 during the alleged scam.
The suspect reportedly said he did not have any of the money left.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.