Employee trust fund fraud?

I came across some documents at my workplace. Former employees were the beneficiaries for a trust fund or some type of stock dividends (a few bucks total for each employee). I do believe that owner of the company set these accounts up because he asked for files on former employees (I found that odd, because he never really participates in the business, especially the HR side). What benefit does he gain from setting up a trust fund for these former employees (tax break, etc)? I don't believe that these employees had anything to do with these accounts. Did he need their permission or signature to do this?