Steve C. Morang, CFE
Steve C. Morang, CFE, is a senior manager at a Northern California-based CPA firm and president of the ACFE’s San Francisco Chapter. Contact him at steve.morang@yahoo.com.
Theranos
Although the Theranos saga is far from over — the company is fighting multiple lawsuits and regulatory actions — I’ll limit my analysis to the “Mad Money” interview. It provides us with valuable insights into how we can apply our interviewing skills as fraud examiners not only to the standard-type fraud examinations we deal with daily but also to unusual high-profile “personality cases” like Theranos.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
$100 million mystery behind Mr. Oh's embezzlement
On February 22, Swiss-based global engineering group ABB announced it was the victim of a $100 million internal embezzlement scheme in its South Korean subsidiary. The money and the alleged perpetrator vanished, and an international manhunt is so far unsuccessful. To the best of my knowledge, this is the largest case of employee embezzlement.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Pharma Bro's trial a test for fraud prosecution
Martin Shkreli’s fraudulent activity as a hedge fund manager led to his arrest, trial and conviction on securities fraud. This is the first fraud trial since Bernie Madoff’s to garner such media attention, public interest and academic discussion. But that wasn’t just because of Shkreli’s reputation for frequently and outlandishly using social media or his lawyer quoting Lady Gaga in his opening statement.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Volkswagen’s Dieselgate
On Sept. 18, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group. The EPA contended that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed diesel engines to activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
In Toshiba's scandal, blame samurai code
The Toshiba Corporation has struggled since at least 2008 to meet its financial targets. In 2015, the company made a shocking admission: Because of its struggles, Toshiba had committed a multi-year $1.22 billion accounting fraud that culminated in the resignation of CEO Hisao Tanaka in July of that year. What made this most surprising was that Toshiba had been perceived as “a totem of strong and virtuous Japanese corporate governance.”
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
A clueless organization?
As reported in the media on September 9, Wells Fargo negotiated a deal to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Comptroller of Currency, and the City and County of Los Angeles. As part of the $185 million settlement Wells Fargo didn’t admit to any wrongdoing. However, it did confirm to the regulators and media that employees had opened more than two million checking, savings and credit card accounts without customer approval.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Jewelry magnate on the run after fraud exposed
Nirav Modi supposedly was one of the richest men in India. He came from a respected family and had close connections to the government. Could he really have pulled off a huge banking fraud to finance his business ventures?
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Fraud on Fyre
Few fraudsters have marketed their schemes on social media as effectively as the organizers of the catastrophic Fyre Festival. They branded the event as “the cultural experience of the decade” for wealthy millennials who were willing to spend thousands of dollars for an exclusive VIP weekend.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Did ‘psychic’ Maria Duval make a deal with the devil?
Burgeoning fraud against consumers is affecting millions. Two young investigative journalists at CNN recently reported an immense global mail fraud scheme targeting senior citizens.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
‘Fruitcake fraud’ teaches small businesses lessons in internal controls
Management at Collin Street Bakery, the maker of famous fruitcakes, trusted its close-knit family of employees. Big mistake. That faith cost the company close to $17 million in a massive fraud that serves as an excellent case history.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Uber’s C-suite set poor tone at the top
In the January/February issue, we examined how Uber and its competitors have changed the hired car industry — and thereby changed the industry’s fraud profile. Here in part two, we take a deeper dive into some of Uber’s fraud, ethics and compliance issues that the business and mainstream press highlighted in 2017.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
U.S. Navy corruption on the high seas
The $35 million “Fat Leonard” corruption scandal threatens to decimate an entire generation of experienced U.S. Navy officers. What unfolds is the rise and fall of the defense contractor who bought off Navy brass with meals, liquor, women and bribes.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
Uber faces fraud challenges in industry it redefined
Apart from drawing the scorn of industry regulators across the globe, Uber has been at the center of multiple fraud and workplace harassment allegations and numerous U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations. According to one Uber executive I talked to, who requested anonymity, the DOJ is conducting no less than six current investigations involving Uber.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
A case of 'Grande Frode' at BT Italy
The “Project Crane” investigation into alleged bullying and other inappropriate behavior of BT Italy executives uncovered the multi-year accounting fraud. In October 2016, BT estimated the fraud to be 145 million pounds. That number grew to 530 million pounds in just four months, and BT would lose more than 8 billion pounds in market capitalization as its shares entered a free fall.
Written By: Steve C. Morang, CFE
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