In a Zany Scam, a Software Engineer Went Full 'Office Space' On Zulily
Today, in reasons to keep your work and personal lives separate. If you're considering a large-scale plot to scam your workplace out of thousands of dollars, maybe don’t use your company-issued computer! And definitely don’t name the planning document after the movie that inspired it.
Ermenildo Valdez Castro, a former software engineer at Zulily, has been charged with stealing over $300,000 from the e-commerce site. According to police reports, Castro was inspired by the film Office Space. The 1999 comedy, of course, follows a group of workers who weaponize a computer virus to embezzle money from their company's banking system. Castro conducted a similar scam by making a code that sent customers shipment fees to his personal bank account. In doing so, he embezzled roughly $260,000. Castro also managed to re-code the prices of various items, so that he could purchase them for a lower value—stealing an additional $40,000.
According to the The New York Times, Castro began working at Zulily in 2018 on the shopping experience team, where he had "direct involvement in the coding of the customer checkout process." He began his scam in early 2022, and was caught in June after Zulily noticed a misappropriation of funds. By the time he was caught, Castro had created three different codes that were tacked onto Zulily’s checkout page. Additionally, he’d sent several of the stolen items to his house, along with the home of a woman he’d met on Tinder. On December 20, Castro was charged with two counts of theft and one count of identity theft. He is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on January 26th, in Seattle’s King County Superior Court.
An investigation showed that Castro planned the entire scam on his work computer, in a file named—wait for it—"OfficeSpace Project." Castro reportedly told the police the name was inspired by the film. (C'mon, man!) He also admitted to diverting the shipping fees to his account, but he told the authorities that Zulily knew about it, and the practice was a part of a "testing process." As for the profits, Castro said they were invested into GameStop stock, because of course it was.
According to his "OfficeSpace Project" file, Castro had plans to take his stolen money and live off the grid—but instead he was arrested on nearly $1 million bail. Sometimes, people, it’s best to leave the scams to the movies.
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