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Video: Sears sends felon and stalker into woman’s home

Jason Meinke was employed by a Sears contractor and sent into homes to clean ducts despite his criminal history that included misdemeanor and felony convictions, including a felony aggravated stalking conviction. When he was sent to clean Carrie Smith’s air ducts, she says her nightmare started, as reported by Scott Lewis of Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ (video below):

Smith went into the basement with Meinke’s partner to check out the air ducts. When she came upstairs, she saw Meinke coming out of her bedroom, and it gave her the creeps.

The next day Smith says, “I started receiving vulgar sexual text messages.”

Several vulgar texts including one that talked about having someone urinate in their mouth. Smith called police, and they traced the messages to Meinke’s cell phone. He told the cops his phone had been stolen and he later got it back. Police didn’t buy it and they discovered something else disturbing when they went to Carrie Smith’s house. Someone had unlocked a window behind the bushes and left it cracked open.

“It petrified me,” said Smith. “I thought he was going to come into my home and do something.”

As it turns out, the Sears contract did conduct a background check on Meinke. It showed no records for him, despite the fact that he had recently been released from prison.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Scott Lewis about the dangers of cheap background checks. In the two-part news story below, Scott explores Meinke’s history and questions how Sears, through a contractor, could send him into customers’ homes. I’m quoted near the end of  both stories. The second video tells the sad story of Sue Weaver, who was murdered by an in-home service provider. Her sister, Lucia Bone, started a nonprofit, the Sue Weaver C.A.U.S.E., to bring attention to the issue of improperly screened serviceworkers being sent into homes.

Part one (aired 11/06/2011):

Part two (aired 11/07/2011):

Bad Background Check and Lax Credit Card and Expense Account Controls Lead to Embezzlement

In my presentations to SHRM chapters, churches and non-profits, and basically anyone who needs a good nap after lunch, I regularly warn that even great  background checks typically only catch the low-hanging fruit (those whose past offenses have been discovered by employers or law enforcement) and it is important to to have all of your other business controls in place to protect the company, it’s employees and customers, and the public.

When an employer gets hit with the double-whammy of a bad background check and no controls, it can lead to the ultimate bad hire day. Enter Elisha Lang.

According to court documents, the University of Washington (a state school) hired Lang in July of 2007. At the time, he was facing felony theft charges in King County, Washington (where UW is located), related to a 2004 incident in which he was alleged to have purchased $1,073 in artwork using cancelled credit cards. He also had a 1992 criminal conviction for theft by misrepresentation in Arizona.

Did the State of Washington pay for this trip? Elisha Lang's Facebook profile picture on 9/9/2011.

In 2008, Lang was promoted to Administrative Manager to the Executive Director of the University of Washington Medical Center (his business card must have been printed on legal-sized paper). In this position, he was given a UW credit card and through an “oversight” was also granted authority to pay the credit card with UW funds. That’s right, he had the authority to approve payment of his own credit card charges. He was also assigned a UW travel account that allowed him to pay for travel and related expenses.
Recap:

A convicted thief who was at that time being prosecuted for a theft committed with closed credit card accounts is given a credit card and travel expense account with absolutely no oversight. What could go wrong?

According to the UW Internal Audit department [as cited in the Certification of Determination of Probable Cause (page 10)], between June 2008 and April 2010, Lang “purchased items such as electronics, furniture, art, and food that were determined to be for personal use totaling $204,340.” He also billed UW for almost $40,000 in personal travel-related expenses. According to court documents, Lang made “in excess of 1,890 transactions.”

Just months before the UW Internal Audit department turned their findings over to the police, Lang entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors on the 2004 theft case and accepted one month deferred adjudication probation on a lesser charge of attempted theft. He completed the probation in March 2010 and the art theft case was dismissed.

On April 11, 2011, Lang was charged with 19 counts of theft in King County, Washington related to the UW offenses. That case is pending resolution.

When asked if the school ran a background check on Lang before hiring him, a UW spokesman told the SeattlePI.com that a background check had been run but 2009 theft had not appeared because he had not been convicted.

Huh? Their background check didn’t reflect the pending criminal case for theft because the case was still active? While Washington State’s Human Rights Commission law does prohibit the blanket exclusion of applicants based on their arrest histories it does not preclude employers from considering active cases that are relevant to the position being sought by an applicant.

What’s Up With His Mugshot?

In Washington, mugshots are not available to the public, which led me to his Twitter page (tweets protected) and his Facebook page. I especially like how the Facebook profile pic is of the guy accused of illegally using his employer’s travel accounts standing in front of what appears to be Stonehenge. Exhibit A, anyone?