Sean falsifies a timesheet to inflate hours and then forges a supervisor's signature before delivering it to payroll. This is an example of:

• A. A falsified hours and salary scheme
• B. A fictitious reimbursement scheme
• C. A ghost employee scheme
• D. A check tampering scheme

Answer: (A)

The scenario focuses on misreporting work time to increase pay and bypassing authorization. Falsifying a timesheet to inflate hours, then forging a supervisor’s signature to push it through to payroll, is quintessential payroll fraud tied to inflated wages. It centers on manipulating time records and the approval step to obtain more compensation, rather than creating a fake employee, submitting fake expenses, or tampering with a physical check. In real-world controls, this kind fraud highlights the need for strong separation of duties, independent timekeeping, and verification of supervisor approvals to prevent inflated pay from entering the payroll system.