Fraud Headlines
2013 Articles
June
Montreal's Interim Mayor Arrested On Fraud Charges
Montreal's interim mayor, Michael Applebaum, was arrested and charged with 14 criminal counts including fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy. (CNN)
OSC Forms New Fraud Squad
The Ontario Securities Commission has expanded its boiler-room fraud unit into a separate division that will do criminal investigations of smaller fraud cases. (Globe and Mail)
Labour Plans Massive Increase In Fines For Corporate Fraud
SFO to be given more resources and companies to be held liable for employees' crimes under crackdown on City corruption. (Guardian)
SOX And Whistleblowers - Any Fraud Will Do
Tenth Circuit Court rules that a report identifying any fraud or violation of an SEC regulation, even if it does not impact shareholders, triggers SOX’s protections. (Forbes)
8 Accused Of Fraud In Hacking Of Major Financial Firms, U.S. Military’s Payroll Service
U.S. prosecutors announced fraud and other charges against eight alleged members of an international cybercrime ring that the government said hacked into the computers of more than a dozen leading financial institutions and the U.S. military’s payroll service. (Washington Post)
A Conversation With: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
As the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara has prosecuted high-profile political corruption and terrorism cases. But he’s best known for going after some of the world’s biggest hedge funds in his pursuit of corporate criminals. (New York Times)
Banks Seen As Aid In Fraud Against Older Consumers
The documents... outline how banks profit handsomely by collecting fees while ignoring warnings of potential fraud and, in some instances, enabling dubious merchants to prey on consumers. (New York Times)
Anti-Fraud Plan Gains Steam In EU Bid To Meet Summit Goal
European Union finance ministers, aiming to fulfill at least one of last month’s EU summit pledges, are building support for a U.K.-backed plan to combat fraud related to value-added taxes. (Bloomberg)
Policing Of Medicare Fraud Explodes Over Two Years
The government has revoked the ability of 14,663 providers and suppliers to bill Medicare over the past two years — almost two and a half times the number that had been revoked in the previous two years. (USA Today)
'The Price Is Right' Contestant Busted For Disability Fraud After Spinning The 'Big Wheel' On TV
A postal carrier claiming disability was busted after investigators caught her doing some heavy wheel spinning on "The Price is Right.” (New York Daily News)
Fraud Found In German Power Trading By Baden-Wuerttemberg State
The finance ministry in Baden-Wuerttemberg knows of at least one case of fraud in the German power market and last year investigated another potential case in the natural gas market. (Bloomberg)
Prison Guard Unravels Con’s Alleged Mail Fraud
'Borderline brilliant' thief indicted in federal court. (Spokesman-Review)
May
US Unveils World's Largest Money Laundering Investigation Against Liberty Reserve Digital Currency
The US has unveiled the world's largest money laundering probe, targeting the digital currency operator Liberty Reserve and striking a major blow against what a prosecutor termed the "Wild West" of virtual banking. (Adelaide Now)
Vestas Calls In Fraud Squad To Probe Former CFO's India Deals
Vestas Wind Systems called in Denmark’s fraud squad to probe deals it says former Chief Financial Officer Henrik Noerremark made in India, which led the turbine maker to set aside $24 million to cover possible losses. (BusinessWeek)
Former Saab Automobile Chiefs Arrested For Accounts Fraud
Three former top executives from carmaker Saab Automobile have been arrested in Sweden on suspicion of accounting fraud. (BBC)
Insurance Fraud On The Increase
Cases of suspected insurance fraud -- called questionable claims, or QCs in industry speak -- rose 27% nationwide from 2010 through 2012, according to new figures released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, or NICB. (Fox Business)
The Foreign Bribery Law Comes To Wall Street
A criminal complaint accuses two brokers, Tomas Clarke and Jose Alejandro Hurtado, of using bribery to obtain the securities investment business of the Venezuela’s state-controlled development bank, Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, or Bandes. (New York Times)
Crime Drops But Credit Card Fraud On The Rise
As crime across Australia drops, credit card fraud continued to rise as part of a six-year upward trend, according to the latest Australian Institute of Criminology facts and figures report. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Valuable As Art, But Priceless As A Tool To Launder Money
As other traditional money-laundering techniques have come under closer scrutiny, smugglers, drug traffickers, arms dealers and the like have increasingly turned to the famously opaque art market. (New York Times)
ATM Thieves Conducted Massive Cyberattack
A global posse of cyberthieves, armed with laptops in place of guns, hacked into financial institutions and stole $45 million from automated teller machines in a first-of-its-kind heist made for the 21st century. (Washington Post)
Half of All Employees Think Corruption Is OK: Report
Nearly half of all workers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India think bribery and corruption are acceptable ways to survive an economic downturn, according to a report published by professional services firm Ernst & Young on Tuesday. (CNBC)
SEC Charges Pennsylvania's Harrisburg With Fraud
Federal regulators accused Pennsylvania's beleaguered capital, Harrisburg, of committing fraud, in a move that officials said is meant to send a warning to local officials about the accuracy of financial information they provide to investors and taxpayers. (Reuters)
Europe Seeks Crackdown On Food Fraud
The European Commission on Monday called for additional unannounced inspections of food companies and tougher fines for labelling fraud, after the discovery earlier this year that millions of Europeans had eaten horse meat labelled as beef. (New York Times)
$3.3 Billion Lost In Unemployment Fraud, Study Says
A study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve released last week found that of the $108 billion paid out in unemployment benefits in 2011, some $3.3 billion was paid out dishonestly. (USA Today)
April
SEC Aims To Protect Investors From Fraud Under New Law
The Securities and Exchange Commission is crafting rules to implement a new law that makes it easier for private firms to raise money. But it has been struggling over how to do so in a way that protects investors from fraud. (Washington Post)
Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
The second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy: There's no price the big banks can't fix. (Rolling Stone)
ENRC: Serious Fraud Office Launches Criminal Investigation
FTSE 100 miner investigated over fraud, bribery and corruption claims relating to its Kazakhstan and African businesses. (Guardian)
Medicare-Fraud Tip Rewards Boosted To $10 Million by U.S.
Tips that uncover Medicare fraud may be worth as much as $10 million for whistle-blowers, a boost from a maximum payout of $1,000, as the government seeks to reduce misuse of the health program. (Businessweek)
Hazy Future For Thriving S.E.C. Whistle-Blower Effort
Now that the Securities and Exchange Commission has turned to sophisticated statistical tools and financial experts, one of the most effective weapons in its new enforcement arsenal may be a more traditional one: whistle-blowers. (New York Times)
Ralph Lauren Agrees To Pay $1.6 Million In U.S. Bribe Cases
Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL), the retailer of its namesake brand clothing, will pay about $1.6 million to resolve U.S. regulatory and criminal claims that a subsidiary paid bribes to officials in Argentina from 2005 to 2009. (Bloomberg)
EU Budget Fraud May Be More Than £4BILLION
The European Union is being defrauded of more than £4billion a year – 12 times official estimates – a damning parliamentary report claims. (Daily Mail)
How Charities Can Minimise Fraud
Fraud costs charities £1.3bn every year: they need clear processes and a whistleblowing policy to minimise the risk. (Guardian)
Trader Admits Fraud In $1 Billion Apple Stock Scheme
A former Rochdale Securities trader whose unauthorized purchase of about $1 billion of Apple Inc stock caused the demise of the financial services company pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud and conspiracy. (Reuters)
Fired KPMG Auditor Can't Explain 'Lapse of Judgment'
Scott London, a Los Angeles partner in one of the nation's largest accounting firms, says it began four years ago. By his account, a friend with money trouble was poking around for information on Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc., two Los Angeles-area companies whose audits London personally oversaw. (Los Angeles Times)
Hong Kong Firm at Core of Fraud that Sparked Investigation into Tax Havens
A huge trove of tax-haven data uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is the result of a three-year investigation by its director, Gerard Ryle, into one of Australia's biggest frauds. (South China Morning Post)
March
Retailers Track Employee Thefts in Vast Databases
Facing a wave of employee theft, retailers across the country have helped amass vast databases of workers accused of stealing and are using that information to keep employees from working again in the industry. (New York Times)
Utah Company Rallies After CFO’s Theft Comes To Light
"We broke a 29-year company record in 2012, even after we caught our CFO (chief financial officer) with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar," said Bruce Grogg, Pool Cover’s CEO. (Salt Lake Tribune)
February
Identity theft, phishing top IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
The IRS issued its “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams Tuesday, highlighting fraudulent schemes commonly committed by and upon taxpayers. (Journal of Accountancy)
ATM Fraud On The Rise, Analysts Say
FICO, a software company that provides credit scores and fraud detection services, released data showing a national uptick in card and PIN skimming at ATMs during 2012. (Orange County Register)
Former Calpers Chief Indicted Over Fraud
The United States attorney charged Mr. Buenrostro and his friend, Alfred J. Villalobos, with defrauding the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. (New York Times)
Illinois Is Accused Of Fraud By S.E.C.
For the second time in history, federal regulators have accused an American state of securities fraud, finding that Illinois misled investors about the condition of its public pension system from 2005 to 2009. (New York Times)
Fugitive Fund Manager Stuffed Underwear With Cash, Fled
The German fugitive hedge fund manager who more than five years ago fled the Spanish island of Mallorca with $500,000 hidden in his underwear and luggage faces U.S. charges after his arrest at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. (Bloomberg)
Tax Refund Theft Is Nation's Fastest-Growing Fraud
A new report by the Consumer Sentinel Network, a law enforcement coalition focused on identifying and fighting fraud, says that the nation's fastest growing crime involves stealing Social Security numbers to grab your tax refund. (CBS)
SEC Must File Fraud Suits Sooner, U.S. High Court Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission must move more quickly in pressing some fraud lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a decision that may affect agencies across the government. (Bloomberg)
Sequestration Taxes IRS Fight Against Fraud
Absent a last-minute deal, the 8.2 percent funding cut facing the cash-strapped IRS would likely translate to fewer tax specialists on hand to help taxpayers with their returns and root out tax fraud. (Politico)
Study Confirms Widespread Mortgage Fraud
The housing crisis started with a slew of bad loans. You know the story line: Lenders issued loans to borrowers for homes they couldn't afford, who then defaulted on those loans. … Perhaps less well known is that fraud was endemic during the housing bubble. (CBS)
SEC Launches 'RoboCop' To Fight Against Accounting Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission is deploying an innovative computerised tool designed to automatically trigger alerts concerning suspicious accounting at publicly traded companies. (Telegraph)
Europol Breaks Up Multi-Million Euro Internet Fraud Gang
A network of online fraudsters who masqueraded as European crime-fighting agency Europol and collected millions of euros in fake fines has been broken up - by Europol. (Reuters)
U.S. Recovers $4.2 Billion From Healthcare Fraud Probes: Report
For every dollar spent investigating healthcare fraud over the past three years, the government recovered $7.90, according to a report released by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (Reuters)
Speculative Bets Prove Risky as Savers Chase Payoff
Regulators across the country are confronting a wave of investor fraud that is saddling retirement savers with steep losses on complex products that until a few years ago were pitched only to the most sophisticated investors. (New York Times)
IRS: Bad Spelling Led To Crack In Fraud Case
Had they been better at spelling, a Westerville man and a Reynoldsburg woman accused of stealing more than 500 identities in a tax-fraud scheme might not have been caught. (Columbus Dispatch)
Mortgage Fraud Prosecutors Pounce On A Small Bank
On May 31 of last year, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced criminal charges against the bank and 19 former employees, some facing up to 25 years in prison. (Businessweek)
Twitter Stock Market Hoax Draws Attention Of Regulators
U.S. market regulators are trying to determine if a message posted on a hoax Twitter account this week was used as part of a securities fraud scheme. (Huffington Post)
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January
Libor Lies Revealed In Rigging Of $300 Trillion Benchmark
Even in an era of financial deception -- of firms peddling bad mortgages, hedge-fund managers trading on inside information and banks laundering money for drug cartels and terrorists -- the manipulation of Libor stands out for its breadth and audacity. (Bloomberg)
The 'Facebook Generation' Has Totally Revolutionized Insider Trading
Insider trading has become more "socialized" as young white collar criminals become more connected online, an upcoming study has found. (Business Insider)
Texas Day Trader Sued By SEC Over High-Frequency Trading Claims
A Texas day trader illegally raised more than $6 million from the Houston-area Lebanese community by making false promises that his algorithmic trading program would generate 30 percent returns, U.S. regulators said. (Businessweek)
Former Jefferies Trader Is Charged With Fraud
Jesse C. Litvak, the former Jefferies trader, is accused of generating more than $2 million in revenue for Jefferies by overcharging his customers through deceitful conduct. (New York Times)
10 Worst Cities For Potential Mortgage Fraud
The total amount of possible mortgage fraud nationwide rose 1.1 percent from July to September 2012 from the previous quarter, according to new statistics from Kroll Factual Data. (AOL)
"Fraud Was … The F-Bomb"
Well before the housing bubble burst, alarm bells were starting to sound among key players in the mortgage industry: due diligence underwriters. (PBS)
SEC Seeks to Break From Its Troubled Past
It is hard to imagine things getting any worse at the Securities and Exchange Commission than they were when the Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford scandals came to light four years ago, and even some of the agency's harshest critics now say things have gotten a whole lot better. (CNBC)
Alleged Fraud At Caterpillar's Chinese Acquisition Puts Spotlight On U.S. Principals
Investors in Caterpillar got a nasty surprise last Friday when the company revealed that it had uncovered massive fraud at a Chinese mining equipment firm that it bought last year. (Forbes)
Stanford Suits Get Court Review in Securities-Fraud Test
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to use a case involving investors in R. Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme to consider tightening the limits on securities-fraud suits. (Bloomberg)
Poker Player Convicted For $1.2 Bln U.K. Property Fraud
Greek businessman Achilleas Kallakis, known as “The Don” on the international poker circuit, was convicted of defrauding lenders and using the proceeds to pay for trophy property, private planes, a yacht in Monaco, luxury cars, helicopters and artwork, prosecutors said. (Bloomberg)
21 People Charged In Unemployment Fraud Scheme
Three people were arrested in California for collecting fraudulent unemployment and disability benefits. (CNN)
FBI’s Washington Office Homes In On Financial Fraud Cases
The FBI’s Washington field office, long known for its work on terrorism and public corruption, has taken a central role in the U.S. probe of the manipulation of interest rates that has entangled banks around the world. (Bloomberg)
Top Email Terms Used By Corporate Fraudsters Published By FBI
Software developed by the FBI and Ernst & Young has revealed the most common words used in email conversations among employees engaged in corporate fraud. (Computerworld UK)
SEC’s Window For Fraud Suits May Be Narrowed By Top Court
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled it may tighten the time limits that apply when the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies seek to impose fines on people and companies accused of fraud. (Bloomberg)
Tax Fraud At Highest Level Since Start Of Crisis
Tax fraud has reached its highest level since the onset of the financial crisis, as VAT evasion has exploded, costing Britain more than £3bn a year. (The Telegraph)
Madoff Aside, Financial Fraud Defies Policing
While Mr. Horn is a relatively minor player in the pantheon of financial fraud, his actions highlight the persistent problems with policing the industry, even after the wave of rules enacted since the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff’s giant Ponzi scheme in 2008. (Accounting Today)
Dispatches from the War on Fraud
For those looking to protect their clients -- or themselves -- from fraud, Randy Wilson has a sobering warning. (Accounting Today)
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