Brittany, a cash register teller, signed onto her register, rang a 'no sale' transaction to open the drawer, and then removed a large sum of money. Which scheme has taken place?

• A. A register disbursement scheme
• B. A skimming scheme
• C. A cash larceny scheme
• D. None of the above

Answer: (C)

The situation illustrates cash larceny. The teller gains access to the cash drawer by signing onto the register and using a no-sale to open it, then illegally removes a large sum of money. The key element is the theft of cash from the register itself, after it has come into the cashier’s possession, even though the no-sale entry is used to conceal the act. The no-sale tactic is just a method to access the cash without creating a proper sale record, but the underlying crime is taking cash from the till.

This wouldn’t be a register disbursement scheme, which involves manipulating legitimate disbursements to the employee, nor a skimming scheme, which is theft of cash before it’s recorded in the books. Here the act is direct cash theft from the till, i.e., cash larceny.