embezzle
Meaning: to steal money by falsifying records
Usage: The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company’s funds.
larceny
Meaning: obtaining another’s property by theft or trickery
Usage: When my car was not where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.
bilk
Meaning: cheat, defraud
Usage: The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.
connive
Meaning: to plot, scheme
Usage: She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans.
duplicity
Meaning: crafty dishonesty
Usage: His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground.
ruse
Meaning: a trick
Usage: Oliver created a ruse to hide the surprise party plans.