Fraud in the News

The case of the corporate whistleblower program gone wrong

According to the Sept. 21 New York magazine article, Former Wells Fargo Employees Say They Were Fired for Whistle-blowing, by Adam K. Raymond, a handful of Wells Fargo employees told CNN they were let go after blowing the whistle on the fraudulent practices that resulted in $185 million in fines for the bank.

According to the article, one New Jersey man said he called the ethics hotline and was fired eight days later for tardiness. A Texas woman says she called the company's ethics hotline to report dubious sales practices and faced retaliatory "bullying" and "defamation of character." She was fired for falsifying documents, which she denies doing.

On Sept. 21, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf told the Senate Banking Committee that bank employees are "encouraged to raise their hands" if they see illegal activity taking place. However, according to the article, CNN spoke to someone who'd worked in Wells Fargo human resources who confirmed that the bank's strategy for dealing with whistleblowers was to find ways to fire them "in retaliation for shining light."

Read more about the Wells Fargo phony-account fraud in the "Big Frauds" column.

The case of the disappearing precious metals

According to the Detroit Free Press article, Jeweler accused of strange, slow-motion platinum heist, by Daniel Bethencourt on Sept. 25, an armored vault in Detroit which was supposed to hold more than $4 million in platinum and other precious metals had been stolen and replaced with worthless metals, such as copper and tin.

According to the article, a lawsuit and a felony criminal charge in federal court claimed that the culprit was Gregory Koukoudian, a Berkley-based jewelry wholesaler who had trusted, routine access to the vault. Court records allege that Koukoudian gradually withdrew platinum that he was legally entrusted to handle and replaced it with less-precious equivalents over a period of months or even years.

The article states that Koukoudian now stands accused of one count of wire fraud and a conviction would carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He's pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The case of the zombie drivers

In China, Uber passengers are being scammed out of rides and money because they're fearful of being picked up by what looks like zombies, according to the Sept. 22 CNET article, Uber drivers in China allegedly pretending to be zombies in scam, by Chris Matyszczyk.

According to the article, some Uber drivers in China are being accused of posting profile pictures that make them look like zombies. Passengers are supposedly so disturbed by these images that they cancel their rides and the drivers pocket cancellation fees. The "zombies" are dubbed "ghost drivers."

The article states that the Chinese news site Sixth Tone also reports that some ghost drivers allegedly claim a rider has entered their vehicle when they haven't. They then cancel the ride — again pocketing money.