Fraud Headlines
2015 Articles
December
Amazon And eBay Face Crackdown Over VAT Fraud By Overseas Sellers
Top tax officials are exploring whether Amazon and eBay can be forced to foot the bill for ballooning VAT fraud associated with an army of small overseas sellers who are rapidly coming to dominate sales of many popular items on Britain’s leading shopping websites. (Guardian)
Same-Day ACH Payments Will Stress Bank Anti-Fraud Efforts
NACHA's adoption of same-day payment, or ACH (Automated Clearing House) payment — allows businesses and customers to benefit from receiving same-day transaction processing, though with security risk. (Payment Source)
Fidelity To Pay $1m To Settle Allegations It Failed To Stop Fraud
Fidelity Investments agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle allegations that it failed to stop a Wisconsin woman who stole money from investors while posing as a Fidelity broker. (Boston Globe)
Shkreli, CEO Reviled For Drug Price Gouging, Arrested On Securities Fraud Charges
Martin Shkreli, the boyish drug company entrepreneur, who rocketed to infamy by jacking up the price of a life-saving pill from $13.50 to $750, was arrested by federal agents at his Manhattan home on securities fraud related to a firm he founded. (Bloomberg)
VW Faces New Fraud Charges
First it cheated on emissions tests; now Volkswagen has come under fire for potentially misusing billions of euros in EU funds. (Deutsche Welle)
Assessing How Important A Statement Is For Securities Fraud
Two decisions last week from federal appeals courts could make life more difficult for the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in pursuing cases by giving ammunition to defendants claiming that there is not enough evidence to prove the materiality of their misstatements. (New York Times)
New York Lawyer Convicted Of Maxim Magazine Deal Fraud
Harvey Newkirk, 39, was convicted by a federal jury in Manhattan on one count of wire fraud stemming from his involvement in helping convicted felon Calvin Darden Jr secure financing for the failed $31 million deal. (Reuters)
Romania's Prince Paul Detained In Big Case Of Alleged Real Estate Fraud
Romania's Prince Paul was detained in a case of alleged real estate fraud also involving a top aide to a former prime minister and a newspaper editor. (U.S. News And World Report)
Things To Know About Investigative Fraud In China
An Associated Press investigation found widespread fraud in China's murky anti-counterfeiting investigations industry. (ABC)
Former Jefferies Trader Wins Reversal Of Fraud Conviction
A former Jefferies & Co. managing director accused of lying to customers about bond prices had his conviction overturned, setting back government efforts to hold individuals accountable for alleged wrongdoing on Wall Street. (Bloomberg)
UK Serious Fraud Office Reaches First Deferred Prosecution Agreement
The first deferred prosecution agreement in the U.K. was finalized between the Serious Fraud Office and Standard Bank, potentially paving the way for future similar agreements. (National Law Review)
The Age Of The Whistleblower
Life is getting better for those who expose wrongdoing, but companies continue to fight back — often against their own interests. (Economist)
DOJ Recovered $1.1B In Contract Fraud Settlements In 2015
The Department of Justice recovered more than $3.5 billion in fraud claims for FY2015, with a third of it coming from government contracts and procurement. (Federal Times)
FIFA Corruption: Top Officials Arrested In Pre-Dawn Raid At Zurich Hotel
Sixteen people were expected to be charged by day’s end, law enforcement officials said, nearly doubling the size of an already huge case that has upended FIFA, soccer’s multibillion-dollar governing body. (New York Times)
November
Sheldon Silver Guilty On All Counts In Corruption Trial
A jury has convicted former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, finding him guilty of all seven counts alleged in the federal indictment. (TWC News)
Serious Fraud Office Investigating Multiple Corruption Claims
The move comes in the wake of the introduction of strict new anti-corruption laws, which will slap tougher penalties on New Zealand businesses if they are caught paying bribes overseas. (Stuff New Zealand)
IRS Seeks Taxpayer Help Battling Tax Refund Fraud
IRS, state tax officials and tax industry representatives urged U.S. taxpayers to join the battle against thieves who steal personal information and use the data to file phony tax returns that produce hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds. (USA Today)
For-Profit College To Pay Record Sum To Settle Fraud Charges
Education Management Corporation will pay $95.5 million to settle accusations that it paid employees based on how many students they enrolled and lied to the federal government about it. (Fortune)
Phishing And Fraud During China’s Singles Day Sales
Unfortunately (and inevitably), the massive spending that happens on Singles Day also attracts a massive number of scammers and phishers hoping to get a piece of that multibillion-dollar pie. (Tech In Asia)
Serious Fraud Office Charges 10 People Over Euribor Rate Rigging
Ten former employees at Deutsche Bank and Barclays are to be charged by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to allegations they plotted to fix benchmark euro interest rates. (Guardian)
Square Sees Rise In Fraud Rates As It Readies For IPO
While growth in those figures is expected given the company’s increasing annual payment volume, the rate by which transaction losses is rising suggests that Square is being hit with fraudulent charges in 2015 at a higher pace than in previous years. (Forbes)
Prosecutors Allege Persistent Heating Oil Fraud In New York City
In a city of glittering office towers and computerized transactions, of records kept in the cloud and fuels that send less soot into the sky, the authorities say old-fashioned corruption of the most brazen kind still poisons the heating oil industry. (New York Times)
U.K. Serious Fraud Office Ends Fraud Case Against Olympus
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office dropped its case against Olympus Corp. two years after charging the company with making false and misleading financial statements. (Bloomberg)
Afghan President Calls Off Business Deal With Banker Convicted Of Fraud
Facing a public outcry, the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has called off his government’s recent business partnership with a felon who was supposed to be in prison for defrauding the country’s biggest private bank. (New York Times)
Companies Still Bending Finance Rules, Enron Boss Warns
The convicted former finance chief of Enron, the failed US energy giant, has sounded a warning about corporate fraud, saying companies now have even more scope to bend the rules than when he was at the firm. (BBC)
Afghan Businessman Convicted In Kabul Bank Fraud Is Still Free To Make Money
The businessman, Khalilullah Frozi, is supposed to be serving a 15-year prison sentence for his role in defrauding Kabul Bank of nearly $1 billion of depositors’ money. (New York Times)
Trader Found Guilty Of Commodity Fraud And 'Spoofing'
In the U.S. government's first criminal prosecution of the manipulative trading practice known as "spoofing," high-frequency trader Michael Coscia was found guilty on Tuesday. He was also found guilty of commodity frauds. (NPR)
Geico Turns To Civil Suits In Bid To Fight Fraud
Insurers here have fought back against staged car accidents, faked injuries, and bogus medical bills mostly by referring cases to law enforcement. But Geico took a different — and more controversial — tack, suing local chiropractors and physical therapists and forcing them into expensive legal battles. (Boston Globe)
Crime And Corruption Commission Targets Privately Funded Queensland Police Anti-Fraud Projects
Project Synergy, which has raised $165,000 in the past two financial years from some of Australia's best-known companies, is the target of a probe by the Crime and Corruption Commission. (ABC)
Pharmacist At Center Of Valeant Scandal Accuses Drugmaker Of 'Massive Fraud'
Reitz now finds himself at the center of the national scandal enveloping Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, the once highflying Wall Street darling that in recent weeks had its stock price almost cut in half. (LA Times)
October
Feds Charge 7 With $2 Billion Fraud Tied To Deepwater Horizon Spill
Federal prosecutors are accusing seven individuals of conspiring to fraudulently charge more than $2 billion to a program set up to help people affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (CBS)
Former Speaker Hastert Pleads Guilty To Bank Fraud Charges
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges connected with what prosecutors say is a sexual misconduct matter. (UPI)
Buffalo-Based Company Behind Largest Debt Collection Fraud Scheme Ever Prosecuted
A Buffalo-based debt collection company has been named in a federal indictment, accused of wrongfully taking more than $31 million from thousands of people across the United States. (TWC News)
Drug Maker Valeant Plunges As Report Alleges Enron-Like Fraud
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals tumbled after a research firm accused the drug company of massive fraud similar to what doomed Enron. (CNN)
IRS Enhances Efforts To Combat Identity Fraud
The Internal Revenue Service and private tax preparers say they are beefing up efforts to limit tax-related identity theft for the 2016 filing season, testing more than 20 new safeguards to protect taxpayers’ sensitive information. (Washington Post)
Fear’s Impact On Accounting Fraud Is Actually Kind Of Spooky
Fear and embarrassment — rather than lining executive pockets — may be the primary motivating factor for private and public company executives succumbing to financial statement fraud, according to recently published research. (FEI Daily)
Louisiana Sees First Major ‘Synthetic Identity’ Fraud In Baton Rouge Case, Louisiana AG Says
Authorities say Donald Lonnell Batiste peddled so-called credit repair services, promising legal ways to secure loans for people desperate to start a new financial life. (Advocate)
Former U.N. Leader Charged In Alleged Bribery Scheme
A former president of the U.N. General Assembly "sold himself and the global institution he led" by allegedly pocketing more than $1 million in bribes to finance a luxury spending spree, according to a federal prosecutor. (CNN)
Supreme Court Denies Request To Hear Insider Trading Case
The Supreme Court refused to review an appeals court decision that made it harder to prosecute insider trading and threatens to undermine a number of convictions. (New York Times)
Thousands Protest In Moldova Against $1 Bln Bank Fraud
Around 20,000 Moldovans rallied in the heart of the capital Chisinau, demanding the resignation of senior government officials and early elections over a $1 billion bank fraud that has hit living standards. (Reuters)
Anatomy Of A Fraud Bust: Collaboration Creates Efficiency
In June, the Department of Justice announced a 243-person nationwide healthcare fraud bust valued at $712 million, making it the largest fraud takedown in U.S. history. (Fierce HealthPayer AntiFraud)
September
Former VW Boss Winterkorn Investigated For Fraud
The investigation into Winterkorn, who quit on Wednesday after almost nine years at the helm of Europe's largest carmaker, is into "allegations of fraud in the sale of cars with manipulated emissions data," the prosecutor's office said. (Reuters)
Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, Is Under Criminal Investigation In Switzerland
Joseph S. Blatter, the longtime president of FIFA, is under investigation for “suspicion of criminal mismanagement and suspicion of misappropriation” of funds, Switzerland’s office of the attorney general announced. (New York Times)
NHS Losing Billions To 'Fraud By Doctors And Dentists'
GPs create 'ghost patients', dentists claim for false work and pharmacists fail to declare charges paid, report says as it claims £5.7bn lost to fraud. (Telegraph)
Fuel Fraud: Government Employees Steal Millions From Taxpayers At The Pump
The Office of the Inspector General at GSA has closed out 260 fleet card cases and recovered more than $2.4 million in federal taxpayer money between 2010 and 2014, but specialists in how to crack down on fraud say the real figure is probably much higher. (Watchdog)
Texas Man Pleads Guilty In NY Bitcoin Securities Fraud Case
A man involved in what federal authorities have described as the first bitcoin securities fraud case pleaded guilty. (ABC)
Ex-Texas Fruitcake Executive Sentenced For $16.6 Million Fraud
Jenkins, 66, was sentenced to a decade in federal prison for fleecing the bakery of nearly $17 million and using the proceeds to support an extravagant lifestyle that included private jet trips to Aspen and Santa Fe, the purchase of luxury cars and a $50,000 wine collection. (NBC)
When Cyber Fraud Hits Businesses, Banks May Not Offer Protection
Cyberthieves steal hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the bank accounts of U.S. businesses. And many business owners are surprised to find out their bank is not obliged to make them whole. (NPR)
New York Police Focus On Fraud Involving Credit Cards
In an age when consumers rely more on cards than on cash, and security breaches have made personal data vulnerable to nefarious hands, law enforcement officials and security experts described such fraud as widespread and growing. (New York Times)
New York Global Group’s Wey Charged In Reverse-Merger Fraud
Benjamin Wey, who made a career of bringing Chinese companies onto U.S. exchanges, was indicted for fraud in connection with three reverse mergers. (Bloomberg)
New Justice Dept. Policy Aims To Get Tough On Wall Street Fraud
The Justice Department issued a new policy that made the prosecution of Wall Street executives involved in financial fraud a major priority. (USA Today)
Anger Over 'Fraud Of The Century' In Moldova
The scandal over $1 billion missing from state banks has sparked a political crisis. (Deutsche Welle)
Guatemala's President Resigns In Face Of Fraud Scandal
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has resigned in the face of a corruption scandal that has brought his government to the brink. (Al Jazeera America)
Criminal Investigators Hired By Charities As Pressure Mounts Over Fraud
Rising mistrust of international charities and a public push for greater transparency on spending in corruption-prone crisis zones are compelling some non-government organisations (NGOs) to hire a new recruit - the criminal investigator. (Reuters)
Amid Post-Katrina Generosity Came $1.4B In Fraud
Hurricane Katrina brought out the best in people, with volunteers and donations pouring in to help. But it also brought out the worst — scammers, cheats and fly-by-night contractors with their hands on some of the billions of relief and insurance dollars. (Clarion-Ledger)
August
New Mexico's Prosecutor Charges State Official With Embezzlement
New Mexico's Democratic attorney general filed a 64-count criminal case against Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran on Friday, accusing her of embezzlement, money-laundering, campaign finance violations and other offenses. (Reuters)
Denmark Reveals €800m Tax Fraud — The Country's Biggest
Tax authority alerts police amid suspicion that foreign companies have defrauded its system over past three years. (Guardian)
Fraud Rate Doubles As Cybercriminals Create New Accounts In Users' Name
To get more value out of stolen personal information, cyber criminals doubled their rate of account creation fraud this summer, according to a report report from Vancouver-based NuData Security. (CSO)
Why Phone Fraud Starts With A Silent Call
According to the Federal Trade Commission, these robocalls are on the rise because Internet-powered phones make it cheap and easy for scammers to make illegal calls from anywhere in the world. (NPR)
Guatemalan President Says Won't Stand Down Amid Graft Scandal
Guatemalan President Otto Perez dismissed corruption allegations leveled against him by prosecutors and said he would not stand down. (Reuters)
Owasso State Senator Charged With Financial Fraud, Enters Plea
An Oklahoma state senator pleaded guilty Thursday morning to wire fraud and tax evasion. (News On 6)
Online And Telephone Fraud Surges In Mainland China And Hong Kong, Officials Say
Law enforcement officials in China and surrounding regions have reported a surge in online and telephone fraud by criminals who, with a powerful mix of technological and psychological savvy, pose as Chinese officials and cheat people of their life savings. (New York Times)
Synthetic Identity Fraud: A New Kind Of Costly ID Theft
Identity theft has been an ever-growing problem, but authorities say there is a new twist on an old problem for us to worry about: Synthetic identity fraud. (ABC)
Citigroup To Pay $180 Million On Crisis-Era Hedge Fund Fraud
Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay almost $180 million to settle a U.S. regulator’s allegations that it defrauded wealthy clients of two failed hedge funds by telling them the investments were as safe as low-risk municipal bonds. (Bloomberg)
Hackers, Stock Traders Accused Of $100 Million Market Fraud
U.S. federal prosecutors said they had broken up one of the largest-ever fraud schemes that used sophisticated computer hacking for unprecedented insider trading in international markets. (Deutsche Welle)
Tech Firm Ubiquiti Suffers $46M Cyberheist
Networking firm Ubiquiti Networks Inc. disclosed this week that cyber thieves recently stole $46.7 million using an increasingly common scam in which crooks spoof communications from executives at the victim firm in a bid to initiate unauthorized international wire transfers. (Krebs on Security)
Global Card Fraud Damages Reach $16B
The losses from worldwide fraud on credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards hit $16.31 billion last year on a total card sales volume of $28.844 trillion, The Nilson Report announced. (PYMNTS)
Elderly Make Up 80% Of Fraud Victims, Police Say
Elderly people accounted for nearly 80 percent of all victims of confirmed fraud cases in the first half of 2015, according to provisional data released by the National Police Agency. (Japan Times)
Texas AG Indicted For Felony Securities Fraud
A grand jury has indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on felony securities fraud charges that accuse the Republican of misleading investors before he took over as the state's top law enforcement officer. (ABC)
July
Pennsylvania Congressman Fattah Indicted For Fraud Scheme
U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly trying to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars of charitable and federal grant money to pay off debts incurred in his failed run for mayor of Philadelphia. (Bloomberg)
By Nearly Any Measure, Sunny South Florida Is Tops In Fraud
The region has become notorious for scammers stealing hundreds of millions from the government, banks and individuals. The most popular current trend: identity theft coupled with income tax fraud. (Portland Press Herald)
Sources: Nation's Disabled Work Program Mired In Corruption, Fraud
AbilityOne, along with the nonprofit agency that manages its program for the severely disabled, SourceAmerica, are being investigated by authorities for illegal operations, financial fraud, mismanagement, operating in violation of the law, steering of contracts, and possibly obstruction of justice. (CNN)
Europe Suffers A Post-EMV Fraud Spike
Fraud affecting EMV cards issued or acquired in the Single Euro Payments Area in Europe jumped 8% in 2013, about the time the SEPA zone had near-complete adoption of EMV at the point of sale. (Payments Source)
Toshiba Chiefs To Quit As Panel Finds 'Organized' Accounting Fraud
President Hisao Tanaka and his predecessor, Norio Sasaki, current vice chairman, are expected to take responsibility for the findings and resign. (Japan Times)
More Small Employers Using Video To Detect Workers’ Comp Fraud
While roughly one-in-10 small business owners say they’re concerned that one of their employees would commit workers’ comp fraud, nearly one-fourth of small business owners have installed surveillance cameras to monitor employees on-the-job. (Insurance Journal)
A Tiny Bank’s Surreal Trip Through A Fraud Prosecution
Bank officials uncovered the fraud, fired the mastermind, investigated and reported it to regulators and provided New York State prosecutors with over 900,000 pages of documents. Yet by May 2012 Abacus was under indictment by a grand jury in New York State Supreme Court. (New York Times)
Exclusive: Aid Charities Reluctant To Reveal Full Scale Of Fraud
With fraud rife in conflict and disaster zones, aid charities are under pressure to be open about corruption but one third of the world's 25 biggest aid charities declined to make their fraud data public in a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation. (Reuters)
Former Ukip MEP Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Expenses Fraud
Ashley Mote, who submitted bogus European parliamentary expenses claims of almost £500,000, ‘lied and lied’ throughout his trial. (Guardian)
Feds: 3 Indicted In Las Vegas In $1.5B Investment Fraud Case
Authorities in the U.S. are seeking the arrest of the chief executive of a Las Vegas investment company and two of his former Asia-based executives on an indictment alleging they headed a $1.5 billion Ponzi-style fraud scheme. (ABC)
A London Hedge Fund Lost $1.2 Million In A Friday Afternoon Phone Scam
The fund's finance chief thought he was talking to Coutts. He most certainly was not. (Bloomberg)
Gift Card Fraud Will Be A Major Threat Post-EMV
As the United States begins its efforts to reduce credit card fraud by transitioning to EMV, another type of card—the online gift card—could see its fraud risk skyrocket. (Payments Source)
Card Fraud In Mumbai More Than Triple This Year
The incidence of bank card fraud has risen sharply in the first five months of 2015. The rate is two-and-a-half times that reported during the same period last year. (Times of India)
Current Accounts Overtake Mortgages As Fraud Of Choice
Tighter mortgage controls, identity theft and faster switching are blamed for surge in imposter applications for current accounts. (Guardian)
June
Occupancy Fraud Poses Threat To Mortgage Lenders, Real Estate Agents And Buyers Alike
Although many types of mortgage fraud are actually on the decline, LexisNexis says one type is becoming more pervasive: occupancy fraud. (Inman)
Madoff Whistleblower Sounds Alarm On T Pension Fund
A six-month examination of the MBTA pension fund, led by the whistle-blower who identified the Bernard Madoff fraud, found accounting and investment reporting practices that he says may overstate the financial health of the transit worker retirement plan by as much as $470 million. (Boston Globe)
Fraud Still Plagues Medicare's Prescription Drug Program
Fraud and abuse continue to dog Medicare's popular prescription drug program, despite a bevy of initiatives launched to prevent them, according to two new reports by the inspector general of Health and Human Services. (NPR)
The Next Fraud Wave: When Banks Cash The Same Check Twice, You Might Have To Pay
Some experts predict “double presentment” will be the source of a new fraud wave coming soon. (Geekwire)
Italy Seeks Charges For Bank Of China In Money Launder Probes
Italian prosecutors filed a request to indict about 300 people, including officials of Bank of China Ltd.’s Milan branch, for crimes including money laundering related to more than 4.5 billion euros ($5.1 billion) of funds that were transfered to China. (Bloomberg)
Honduras Charges No. 2 In Congress With Fraud In Scandal
Prosecutors in Honduras charged the vice president of the nation’s congress with fraud, falsification of documents and crimes against public health in a widening corruption investigation. (Salon)
86.2 Million Phone Scam Calls Delivered Each Month In The U.S.
Phone fraud continues to threaten enterprises across industries and borders, with the leading financial institutions’ call centers exposed to more than $9 million to potential fraud each year. (Net Security)
Medicare Fraud Is Often Cloaked As ‘Free’ Services For Seniors
Many of these schemes offer consumers something that will not cost them anything, because their insurance will pay for it. (Dallas Morning News)
Europol Arrests 49 Alleged Cybercriminals In Financial Fraud Crackdown
The operation resulted in the arrest of 49 individuals suspected of being part of the cybercrime ring, which is believed to have stolen six million euros in a "very short time," according to Europol. (ZD Net)
Computer Sciences Paying $190M to Settle SEC Fraud Charges
Computer Sciences Corp. is paying a $190 million penalty and a former CEO is returning $3.7 million in compensation to resolve federal regulators' charges of accounting fraud involving an important foreign contract. (South Florida Times)
11 Indicted In Federal Investigation Of Fraud, Theft At Baltimore Landfills
Federal prosecutors say the money was just one example of a wide-ranging bribery scheme that took place for more than a decade and cost the city $6 million in "tipping fee" revenues. (Baltimore Sun)
May
'World Cup Of Fraud' Rocks FIFA, Soccer's Top Body
After a day of police raids and high-profile arrests that staggered the world of soccer, prosecutors in the U.S. and Switzerland said their probe into corruption at the sport's highest levels had only begun. (Los Angeles Times)
In Britain, Libor-Rigging Conspiracy Case Is Also A Test For Regulators
The British authorities have charged Tom Hayes, a 35-year-old former trader from Citigroup and UBS with eight counts of conspiracy to commit fraud. (New York Times)
FBI: Social Media, Virtual Currency Hit Big Time Scam, Fraud Club
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) averaged 22,000 overall complaints a month during 2014. (Network World)
CSC Sues Eric Pulier — Alleges Fraud As A Valuation-Increasing Strategy
Things are heating up in the case of cloud vendor ServiceMesh and its CEO Eric Pulier. (Forbes)
The Scary New World Of Tax Fraud
Back in the day — say 2011 — tax fraud was pretty straightforward. Taxpayers deliberately understated income or overstated deductions to cheat the system for their own benefit. (Forbes)
The Typical Office Embezzler Often Isn't Who You Might Suspect
Embezzlement costs American businesses billions of dollars each year. (CBS)
For-Profit College Operator Accused Of Fraud
National for-profit colleges operator ITT Educational Services and two of the firm's top executives were charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (USA Today)
How To Steal $1 Billion In Three Days
A 28-year-old businessman is being accused of stealing $1 billion from Moldovan banks over the course of three days. (CNN Money)
Guatemala Wiretaps Lead To Fraud, Bribery Allegations That Touch Highest Levels Of Government
Wiretappings that prosecutors used to track down a million-dollar fraud ring run out of the Guatemalan government have cost the vice president her job and now may lead to the Central American country's Supreme Court. (Star Tribune)
Los Angeles Sues Wells Fargo Over Alleged Fraud
Wells Fargo employees used customers' private information to open unwanted checking accounts and credit cards in their names, resulting in unexpected fees and damaged credit scores, the city of Los Angeles claimed in a lawsuit. (Al Jazeera America)
April
Managers At Russia's Trust Bank Charged With Fraud That Forced $500 Million Bailout
Former managers and employees of Trust Bank — the first bank bailed out by the state during Russia's ongoing financial crisis — have been charged with fraud for allegedly spiriting millions of dollars away through offshore companies. (Moscow Times)
33 Charged In $2M Cross-Canada Fraud Investigation
Police have charged 33 people with over 200 fraud offences after dismantling a massive, cross-provincial criminal ring responsible for defrauding banks and average citizens alike out of over $2 million. (CBC)
Deutsche Bank To Plead Guilty To Wire Fraud, Pay $2.5B In Fines
The development follows a seven-year investigation into how banks secretly conspired to rig benchmark interest rates. (Al Jazeera America)
'Flash Crash' Trader's Alleged Fraud A Common Market Occurrence
The market manipulation case against the British day trader U.S. authorities say helped spur the May 2010 "flash crash" may be the most high-profile to date, but the type of activity he is accused of is actually quite common, market participants say. (Reuters)
Number Of Accounting Fraud Cases Continues To Rise
A recent report shows that accounting fraud cases, either alleged in securities class-action lawsuits or in enforcement cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, increased sharply over the past year, due in part to the agency's heightened focus on accounting-related fraud. (Accounting Web)
Hong Kong Police Bust Alleged HK$1.5 Million Credit Card Fraud Syndicate
A Hong Kong syndicate alleged to have cheated local banks out of HK$1.5 million through purchases made on credit cards they obtained with bogus identification and bank documents, was smashed with the arrest of four suspects, police said. (South China Morning Post)
Fraud Fed The Mortgage Crisis
Expanded mortgage lending in low-income neighborhoods before the foreclosure crisis was helped along by fraud — namely, the overstating of borrower income on loan applications, according to new academic research. (New York Times)
U.S. Judicial Panel Changes Fraud Sentencing Guidelines
A federal judicial panel adopted new guidelines for sentencing white-collar criminals in fraud cases, in an effort to make punishments more fairly reflect the harm suffered by victims and the intent of offenders to cause harm. (Reuters)
Satyam Founder Ramalinga Raju, 9 Others Convicted Of Multi-Crore Accounting Fraud
Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju and nine others have been found guilty in one of the country's biggest accounting frauds by a special CBI court. (NDTV)
In New Emails, Madoff Says Fraud Wasn't So Bad
Six years after pleading guilty to charges he ran the biggest investment fraud in U.S. history, Bernie Madoff is insisting that the extent of his crimes is not nearly as bad as the media and the court-appointed trustee in charge of cleaning up the mess are making it out to be. (CNBC)
Fraud Analysis Points To Outlook, Elite Credit Card Vulnerabilities
The fraud rate is highest between 2 and 6 a.m. ET, security vendor Forter finds. (eWeek)
These 'Imposter' Scams Are No April Fools' Joke
"Financial fraud crimes are on the rise in this country and imposter scams are one of the major things driving that increase," said Doug Shadel, a fraud prevention expert with AARP's Fraud Watch Network. (NBC)
March
SEC Charges Lynn Tilton With Fraud
A onetime young tennis star-turned-wealthy-investment adviser and her financial firms were charged with fraud for allegedly misleading investors and improperly collecting nearly $200 million in fees. (USA Today)
Ehud Olmert, Israeli Ex-Premier, Is Convicted of Fraud
Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister who was forced from office under a cloud of corruption, was convicted of fraud and breach of trust in a retrial of a case involving an American businessman. (New York Times)
Ex-North Miami Mayor Gets 65 Months For Role In Fraud Scheme
Lucie Tondreau, a community activist who made political history in North Miami and was a symbol of hope for many in her community, was sentenced to 65 months in prison on Tuesday by a federal judge for her role in an $11 million mortgage fraud scam. (Miami Herald)
Bank Of New York Mellon Settles Misrepresentation Claims For $714 Million
Bank of New York Mellon admitted to a “statement of facts” on Thursday that alleged the bank misrepresented the pricing and execution of foreign exchange trades it made on behalf of clients over the course of multiple years. (Forbes)
Citing High Level Of Fraud In Utah, Lawmakers Pass White Collar Crime Registry
Legislators approved a bill that would establish a state-run registry for convicted white collar criminals to combat Utah's high level of affinity fraud, which occurs predominantly among members of the LDS faith. (Salt Lake Tribune)
How PayPal Uses Deep Learning And Detective Work To Fight Fraud
Hui Wang has seen the nature of online fraud change a lot in the 11 years she’s been at PayPal. (Gigaom)
Who’s To Blame When Fraudsters Use TurboTax To Steal Refunds?
A massive spike in the use of services such as TurboTax has coincided with deep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, which along with state taxation authorities has struggled to adapt to the rising sophistication of online criminals. (Washington Post)
Fraud Victims Paid $13M For Worthless Boxes
It was all part of an elaborate advance-fee scheme, a con game in which victims are duped into paying up front for business opportunities or investments that never materialize. (USA Today)
Most Internal Fraud Still Swept Under The Rug
But companies that discover employee malfeasance would be better off calling in law enforcement, and doing so as quickly as possible, say fraud experts. (CFO)
Is Fraud Running Rampant On Apple Pay?
Criminals in the U.S. have found a way to use Apple Pay to push fraud, and they are doing so in increasing numbers. (PYMNTS)
Data Breaches Fuel New Era Of Tax Fraud
The rash of massive data breaches across the United States is driving a new era of electronic tax fraud that has caught Congress’s attention and left consumers wondering if their tax information is safe. (The Hill)
Lawyer At Top Of Huge Fraud Pleads Guilty
A Long Island lawyer who led a huge scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration pleaded guilty, receiving a reduced sentence in return for promising to help federal investigators find other people cheating the disability insurance system. (New York Times)
SEC Files Fraud Charges Against Wings Network
Officials say scheme focused on Latino communities, took in $23.5 million. (Boston Globe)
February
Hong Kong Warns Over Digital Currencies Amid Alleged Bitcoin Fraud
Hong Kong's central bank has warned people against investing in virtual currencies amid local media reports that a bitcoin exchange may have run off with $387 million in client funds. (Reuters)
Madoff Fraud Victims To Get $7.2B In Payout
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee in charge of returning funds to the Ponzi schemer’s ex-clients, distributed an additional $355.8 million in funds to nearly 1,100 accounts. (New York Post)
The Rising Tide Of Tax Filing Fraud
It's a crime that's become so pervasive that people ranging from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to prison inmates have fallen victim: Fraudulent tax filing. (CBS)
Hackers And Cybercrime: Financial Firms Increasingly Targeted For Fraud
As hackers apply new tactics and seek out increasingly lucrative targets, cyberattacks and web scams constitute a significant growing threat to financial firms. (International Business Times)
As Mobile Commerce Grows, M-Commerce Fraud Grows Even Faster
The number of retailers who offer customers a mobile commerce option has doubled in the past year — but m-commerce fraud is growing even faster, according to a new study from LexisNexis. (PYMNTS.com)
Fake Companies, Fake Workers: State Battling New Type Of Unemployment Fraud
The state Division of Employment Security says it is battling a new type of unemployment fraud, one that involves fake businesses, fake workers and false claims of unemployment. (WRAL)
Fraud, Organized Crime Costing Africa Billions Per Year: Study
Africa loses at least $50 billion a year to illicit practices like tax fraud, corruption and organized crime, a worrying situation that is hurting the continent’s economies, a UN-mandated study group warned Sunday. (Al Arabiya)
January
Capital One Fraud Researchers May Also Have Done Some Fraud
Part of why people don't like insider trading is that it seems too easy. ... Say what you will about Bonan Huang and Nan Huang, but they (allegedly) worked hard for their hot tips. (Bloomberg View)
S.&.P. To Pay Nearly $80 Million To Settle Fraud Cases
Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency blamed for helping inflate the subprime mortgage bubble, has settled accusations that it orchestrated a similar fraud years after the bubble burst. (New York Times)
Aging Japanese Prove Rich Pickings For Investment Fraud
A growing number of retirees in Japan are falling victim to fraud, underscoring a downside of promoting personal investment in the world’s most aged nation. (Bloomberg)
UK Regulator Closes Fraud Investigation Into HP-Autonomy Deal
The United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office said it has closed its investigation into the circumstances surrounding Hewlett-Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of the British software firm Autonomy. (Re/Code)
Corporate Fraud In India Rose 45% Last Two Years: Study
Corporate frauds rose by over 45 per cent in India in the last two years and the lurking risk has been dissuading global companies from investing in India, said a study. (Economic Times)
'Astounding' Fraud: Ex Delta Worker Gets 10-Year Sentence
A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding Northwest and Delta Air Lines of more than $36 million over more than a decade. (USA Today)
University Of South Dakota Athletes Ran Tax-Fraud Scheme, Made $400,000
Six people involved in the complicated scheme were USD football players at the time, and another had once been on the track and field team and impeached as USD's student government president over allegations of misused funds. (Huffington Post)
Multimillion-Dollar Tax Fraud Scheme Used Info Stolen From Kids
Under this particular scheme, Abreu, who worked at the time as a fraud investigator with the New York City Human Resources Administration (yes, he was a fraud investigator allegedly committing fraud), sold identifying information of minors, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. That information was then used to file thousands of fraudulent tax returns, resulting in millions of dollars of losses. (Forbes)
Massive Fraud Link To Major Mortgage Broker
The Melbourne man at the centre of an alleged $110 million mortgage fraud holds a senior position in one of the country's largest mortgage brokerage networks, raising concerns that the true scale of the potential financial losses is yet to be known. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Convicted Of Biggest Fraud In Chicago History, Financier Fears Prison
Investors lost more than a half-billion dollars when Bloom’s Sentinel Management Group collapsed in 2007, a collapse that presaged the worldwide credit crunch. (Chicago Sun Times)
Xoom Says Criminal Fraud Costs $30.8 Million, CFO Departs
“The incident involved employee impersonation and fraudulent requests targeting the company’s finance department, resulting in the transfer of $30.8 million in corporate cash to overseas accounts,” San Francisco-based Xoom said. (Bloomberg)
U.S. Credit Cards Tackle Fraud With Embedded Chips, But No PINs
This year, there will be an important change in the way Americans use their credit cards. More banks will be issuing cards with small computer chips, a move they say will protect against credit card fraud. (NPR)
Feds Still Unraveling Extent Of Tax Fraud In Miami Dade College Student Accounts
A tipster walked into the FBI’s South Florida office a few years ago to complain that young cyber criminals in the North Miami area were using something called a “key” in street lingo to steal people’s identities. (Miami Herald)
History's Greatest Fraud Yields One Of The Greatest Legal Slugfests Of Our Time
The clock is ticking for the Madoff Five. In just a few minutes, it will be 2015—the year that the only employees of Bernard L. Madoff who have been convicted of crimes at trial will begin serving out their prison terms. (Forbes)
Back to top