Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets.
Emburse, an expense management software company, released a compilation Wednesday of some of the craziest expenses it has seen claimed this year, some of which were actually approved. That included $1,895, which was approved as a contribution for an employee's Peloton Bike under the explanation of “for health and wellness.” On the other hand, a $7,600 expense claim for a facelift was submitted under the category of “repairs and maintenance” but was rejected, despite the pressing need to look one’s best during a Zoom meeting.
Jason Rosen is founder and CEO of Prism Data, a cash flow underwriting infrastructure and analytics platform. Prior to founding Prism, Jason was co-founder and CEO of Petal, a fintech credit card company. Jason served on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sat on the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act panel for the Open Banking rulemaking, and is a member of the OCC's Project REACh. Jason previously practiced law at Sullivan & Cromwell and Gunderson Dettmer, where he represented financial institutions, technology companies and venture capitalists. Jason holds a JD from Harvard Law School.
Dev Nag is the founder and CEO of QueryPal. He was previously on the founding team at GLMX, one of the largest electronic securities trading platforms in the money markets. He was also CTO and founder at Wavefront (acquired by VMware) and a senior engineer at Google, where he helped develop the back end for all financial processing of Google ad revenue. He previously served as the manager of business operations strategy at PayPal. He also launched eBay's private-label credit line in association with GE Financial. Dev received a dual-degree B.S. in mathematics and B.A. in psychology from Stanford.
Bryan Robertson is a seasoned commercial insurance professional with over 15 years of extensive experience in the industry. As a 5th-generation Central Floridian, he brings a deep connection to the region, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities that businesses face. Throughout his career, Bryan has demonstrated a complex understanding of risk management, coverage negotiations, and client relationship management, helping middle market and larger corporations secure comprehensive insurance solutions tailored to their unique needs. In the fall of 2020, Bryan, along with two partners, acquired Hatcher Insurance.
Under their leadership, the company has experienced significant growth, expanding from a team of 5 to over 30 employees. This rapid expansion reflects their commitment to excellence and their ability to adapt to the evolving needs of the market. Rooted in the rich family heritage of Central Florida business owners, Bryan is committed to contributing to the growth and prosperity of his community through his business.
Bryan is recognized for his leadership and mentorship abilities, having led teams to achieve record industry new business growth. Leading to recognition by the Orlando Business Journals' class of 2022 – Top 40 under 40.
Some expenses weren’t for working from home, but more about getting out of the house safely. An expense claim for a private jet charter costing over $20,000 was submitted and approved under the explanation of “required to limit COVID exposure for international shoots.” Another travel-related expense claim was $2,500 for a helicopter ride, which was not approved.
The $79 expense claim for a dog crate could perhaps be used for travel at some point when that's safer, but in these times it was more plausibly to provide "crate training [for] a new COVID puppy to not run into Zoom meetings."
Below is an infographic produced by Emburse showing this and several other head-scratching claims:
