By Lisa A. Tyler
National Escrow Administrator

Read "SUSPICIOUS co–worker uncovers defalcation" to find out how defalcations by a bookkeeper were discovered after years of theft. You have to wonder … is it really worth it? What kind of criminal sentence does defalcation carry?

Do not be the person to take down your Company! Read "FEEL the ban" to learn what lenders expect from their settlement service providers and how to comply with short pay conditions. More importantly, read the article to find out how short pay lenders discover non–compliance and the steps they take to ban settlement agents from closing future transactions.

We repeat: Do not be the person to take down your Company! Read "FORBIDDEN" to learn how an escrow officer in California failed to follow the lender's instructions, and as a result, she and her Company were forbidden to close any future loans on behalf of the lender.

What did they do with their winnings? As you know, we reward heroic employees and agents $1,000 if their story is published in this newsletter. Here are some creative and fun ways our heroes have spent their dough:

• Put funds in a savings or retirement account for a rainy day
• Flew to New York to see a sick father on his 70th birthday as a surprise
• Put the winnings in the branch activity fund so all employees of the branch were able to enjoy a very nice lunch; the winner expressed that she was just doing her job, but it takes a whole team of great people to be successful
• Gave her assistant a percentage and bought an iPad® with the rest
• Bought an iPad
• Went to a wine tasting and bought wine – yum!
• Took her office out for happy hour and went on a mini–vacation with her husband