Which of the following best describes an employee's action in a fictitious refund scheme?

In a fictitious refund scheme, the employee's action of recording a false merchandise return is fundamental to the fraud. This typically involves the employee entering a transaction in the system that indicates a return of goods that were never actually returned or didn't exist. By doing so, the employee can manipulate the accounting records to create the illusion that a legitimate refund is taking place.

This action allows the employee to obtain cash or store credit that they wouldn’t otherwise be entitled to, effectively stealing from the company. The fraud hinges on the misrepresentation of activity in the records, which is why the act of falsifying a return is at the core of this type of scheme.

The other options do not illustrate the key element of a fictitious refund scheme as effectively. For instance, returning actual goods involves a legitimate transaction, taking cash without processing anything does not apply the pretenses of a refund, and informing management about the refund does not contribute to a fraudulent scheme. Thus, recording a false return is the definitive action that identifies this fraudulent activity.