Coworker steals employee's client deck and passes off their work as his own, then gets upset when the employee confronts him: ‘Should I… let this man crumble under the weight of his lies?’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jun 29, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

You could be the nicest, most helpful colleague any of your coworkers could possibly have, and they'll still try to pull a fast one on you. That is the nature of a competitive, hierarchical workforce where output = priority, even when quality (and morality) are sacrificed in the process. It doesn't matter where someone got their idea, only that they said it first, and louder. Sure, that's not intellectual theft at all!

This happens in the workplace more often than you'd think. It's easy to turn the other cheek if it happens to you once or twice, but in doing so, you're setting a precedent that only exists to hurt you and be a source of benefit for a lazy colleague. Don't become someone people want to step on—it's difficult to come back from something like that.

That's why you go straight to a higher-up and tattle on your fraudulent coworker instead! Yep, this isn't high school. Tattle tales don't get called out for being too sensitive—they're rewarded. A company will avoid a lawsuit at all costs, so they'll likely be in the scorned employee's corner. Scroll below to see how this story ends.

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  • Business Market Segmentation Son Fudon "This man goes full TED TALK. Like he was the one who built it from scratch."
    via Yunus Tuğ For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "My Coworker “Accidentally” TOOK CREDIT for My Presentation and Now Everyone Thinks HE'S A GENIUS. Should I Let Him Burn or Be the Bigger Person????"

    Okay sooo this just happened last Friday and I'm STILL annoyed.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • I (32M) had been working on this huge client deck for like... two weeks straight. I skipped lunches, stayed late, even canceled a
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • dinner date with my wife (which I REGRET now to finish this ) thing. The presentation was fire, visuals on point, data solid, the whole thing was basically a masterpiece.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • I send it to my manager. Cool. All good. Then the meeting happens.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • AND MY COWORKER RYAN (fake name but whatever, he knows who he is) gets called on to "walk through the deck." I thought he'd
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • just intro it since we're on the same team, but NO!!! this man goes full TED TALK. Like he was the one who built it from scratch. And everyone? Ate. It. UP.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • He ends the presentation with: "Glad I could pull this together so quickly." I was LITERALLY sitting in the same call like
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • My manager even slacked him after: "Great job today. That deck was " And this dude had the audacity to REACT WITH A FIRE EMOJI.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • Here's the twist tho, when I confronted him after, he goes: "Oh man I thought you didn't mind! You sent it to the team folder. I figured it was, like, collaborative."
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • Cheezburger Image 10522140160
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • UM WHAT????? I wanna p*nch him STRAIGHT IN HIS FACE!!!
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • Now I'm torn between: A) Letting it go to "keep the peace" B) Subtly exposing him in the next team meeting C) Printing the deck, highlighting my name in giant font, and leaving it on everyone's desk
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • So yeah... should I be the bigger person or let this man CRUMBLE under the weight of his LIES??
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • Anyone else had a coworker pull this move?? Pls tell me I'm not alone in this.
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501
  • Cofeefe Id go scorched earth.
    via Cofeefe
  • boniemonie Totally. Your work. Your overtime. He could get a bonus and promotion on the back of this. How would you feel then?
    via boniemonie
  • Flimsy-Clue16 He said "collaborative" like he didn't just rob you at PowerPoint g npoint This isn't being a team player, this is being the main character in someone else's success story HAHAHAHAHAH
    via Flimsy-Clue16
  • evilqueenislandgirl Do not let it go. I made that mistake once and it impacted my career in negative ways. It has nothing to do with being the bigger person. Be professional but set the record straight.
    via evilqueenislandgirl
  • AellaReeves NEVER let someone steal your hard work. Burn baby burn.
    via AellaReeves
  • ATLDeepCreeker You should immediately tell your manager you were the one who worked on that project. My company has zero tolerance for this stuff, and some have been fired. Your relationship with "Ryan" is going to be ruined, but so what? He's a snake, and at the least, your manager should know.
    via ATLDeepCreeker
  • Puzzleheaded-Bowl501 This has so many comments and upvotes now........... didn't expect this coming. HERE'S THE UPDATE Well I talk to him AGAIN. In whatsapp to make everything clear to him and to avoid. this drama in this future, he eventually apologized for what he did and we already talk to our manager regarding with this and he get a little bit angry for what happened, but now what's important is I finally getting the praises and compliments in my hardwork
    via Puzzleheaded-Bowl501

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