I got a small paycheck advance when I was in a tight spot and the boss didn't know

The manager I worked under at a fast food restaurant didn't have the authority to grant me a paycheck advance (like 50 bucks or so) but my boss was always busy doing audits and the like at a main restaurant and didn't know. He would give me cash out of the register and I would pay him back when I got my next paycheck. A lot of times I was late paying him back and so I would owe him more money from my next paycheck. This went on for 3 years, and during that time I paid off 2 cars and another year I got a small tax refund and paid some other stuff off.