JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – A former Jefferson County sheriff’s employee and Birmingham fire chief is taking a plea agreement.
Sebastian Carrillo is accused of fraud from the Paycheck Protection Program from the pandemic.
Carrillo’s attorneys confirmed that he is asking for a non-prison punishment while the state is asking for some time to be served within the county.
A judge will set a sentencing date soon.
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PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.