The Employee Most Likely to Commit Expense Fraud – and Why It’s Getting Worse

Finance teams have always known expense fraud is a problem. What’s changed is the scale, the motivation, and the profile of who’s doing it.

New data from two major studies gives Finance a clearer picture than ever before.

The Profile Hasn’t Changed – But It’s Shifting

The typical occupational fraud perpetrator is male, college-educated, and between the ages of 36 and 50, according to Occupational Fraud 2026: A Report to the Nations. In the study, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) examined 2,402 real fraud cases across 143 countries.

Those findings echo a 2018 study, which found men were twice as likely as women to commit expense fraud, and that 83% of fraud stemmed from employees under age 44.

But the 2026 data signals a shift. The share of female perpetrators grew from 25% to 28%, and the gap in median fraud losses between male and female fraudsters has narrowed. The reality is, fraud can be committed by any employee in any role. In 1996, staff-level employees committed 58% of occupational fraud. By 2026, both employees and managers each accounted for 41% of cases, while owners and executives made up 16%.

Tenure Is the Real Risk Multiplier

Regardless of gender or job title, tenure is the factor that drives losses. The 2026 ACFE report found that median losses caused by owners and executives were more than nine times greater than those caused by staff-level employees – and expense fraud risk increases significantly with authority, tenure and collusion.

The longer a fraudster has been in the building, the more expensive the fraud. Schemes involving multiple perpetrators caused substantially greater financial harm than those committed by a single individual.

Before being detected, 84% of perpetrators displayed at least one behavioral red flag. The most common, according to the ACFE, is living beyond their means – something most employers have no easy way to observe. Workplace behaviors may be a better signal: resistance to audits, requests for sole control over accounts, or an unusual unwillingness to share financial records.

Why Financial Pressure Is Fueling Expense Fraud 

The profile tells Finance who to watch. A 2024 Emburse survey of more than 1,000 workers tackles what’s causing the rise in expense fraud.

Corporate expense practices are a contributing factor, the survey found. Forty percent of respondents said they’ve paid an overdraft or late payment fee on a personal card to cover a business expense. And another 20% said they’ve paid interest on a personal credit card due to slow reimbursement from their employer.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of employees admitted to passing personal purchases off as business expenses. Emburse calls this “revenge spending” – employees recouping costs they feel the company forced them to bear.

Finance’s Action Plan

When it comes to expense fraud, two separate problems require Finance’s attention.

The first is the classic occupational fraud risk – a tenured employee or manager exploiting access and trust over time. Fraud awareness training, segregation of duties, and internal controls remain the strongest defenses.

The second is a newer, financially motivated pattern where otherwise compliant employees cross a line because the reimbursement process puts them in a financial bind. Look at the expense policy first. Clearer spend policies, faster reimbursement cycles and corporate card programs reduce the conditions that push employees toward revenge spending.

The perpetrator profile has held for decades; the financial pressure behind fraud is newer, and Finance has more control over that second problem.