WHAT A HEEL: Unearned Income
After completing the human resources and payroll paperwork with telecommunications firm Avaya, new hire Anthony Armatys changed his mind about the $107,000-a-year job – but the payroll department kept sending him paychecks from September 2002 to early 2007, and invested part of his salary in a retirement account, reports the Newark Star-Ledger:
[H]e never alerted the company to the error.
By the time Avaya found out what had happened, Armatys had collected nearly a half-million dollars, using the money for everyday expenses, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said yesterday.
Officials caught up with Armatys when he tried to make an early withdrawal from his retirement account. Penalty fees aside, the withdrawal sparked an investigation that led to criminal charges.
Armatys, 35, has pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and is looking at a six-year stint in prison. Under the terms of the plea deal, he is also required to make $470,995.53 in restitution to Avaya to cover the salary and retirement savings he wrongfully received.
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