Sorry, Mom: Son Steals $1M From Family-Owned Printer

BRENTWOOD, MO—This rises a few levels above pilfering a fiver from mom's purse and, suffice to say, it's too late to put it back before she finds out.

Michael Britt took the forgery route to stealing from his mother's firm, Gene-Del Printing. St. Louis County prosecutors nailed Britt with 13 counts of forgery for skimming a little more than $1 million. Britt worked as a bookkeeper at Gene-Del between July 2, 2010, and June 14, 2011, according to the St. Louis Today Website, but his thievery started prior to being employed there.

After Britt admitted to his mother that he had been stealing from the company, an internal investigation revealed he had began helping himself to Gene-Del funds as early as 2005 by making checks out to himself and forging the names of two of the owners on the checks. He also charged $25,000 worth of goods to a company credit card, all unauthorized.

According to court documents, Britt took about $209,000 from Gene-Del Printing in 2011 alone, St. Louis Today reported. In all, police claim Britt forged at least 166 checks.

Upon being arrested, Britt told police he used the company's accounting software to hide the thefts, creating phantom invoices in the amounts of the checks he forged. His bail was set at $35,000.