Fraud in the News

Dating from behind bars

Here’s a dating scam you’ve probably never seen before. According to the March 8 Oklahoman article, Oklahoma inmate sentenced in behind-bars dating scam, by Kyle Schwab, an Oklahoma prison inmate ran an entire phone dating scam from inside his jail cell.

The article states that Sean Siwek, 34, smuggled various phones into the state prison where he created fake profiles on “voice-based” dating services. The inmate disguised himself as a male prostitute and arranged meetings with unsuspecting love interests. Later he would call the user pretending to be a police officer and accuse the person of agreeing to have sex with a minor.

According to the article, the inmate made money from the scam by threatening the user on the phone with criminal charges unless they paid up by purchasing prepaid debit cards. Siwek eventually pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was ordered to pay $125,000 in restitution. Investigators were amazed such a scam could take place behind prison bars.

Caterpillar slow to report taxes

In the March 7 New York Times article, Caterpillar is Accused in Report to Federal Investigators of Tax Fraud by Jesse Drucker, leading manufacturing company Caterpillar is in the spotlight for committing accounting fraud. Caterpillar’s strategies for saving the company billions of dollars came under scrutiny and investigators are pointing to tax fraud.

According to the article, a 2014 U.S. Senate hearing uncovered how Caterpillar cut $2.4 billion from its tax bill for 13 years. The company did this, according to the hearing’s findings, by moving earnings from U.S. accounts to a Swiss bank account. There was no clear reason for the move other than tax evasion. The hearing also uncovered accusations that Caterpillar had failed to comply with U.S. financial reporting protocol.

The article states that accusing such a large, multinational company of tax fraud is a rare occurrence. While no charges have been filed at press time, heavy fines could be imposed if fraudulent activity is found.

International fraud rings finally revealed

According to a March 1 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., recent indictments were unsealed that revealed 19 people taking part in large-scale, international fraud and money laundering schemes. The release also revealed the conspiracies totaled more than $13 million in losses.

According to the release, one scheme involved mid-level corporate employees who wired millions of dollars to criminal bank accounts believing they were U.S. executives. These accounts were part of a transnational organized crime network. Most of the schemes targeted U.S. businesses through email correspondence.

According to the release, the 19 arrests occurred all over the world from New York to Germany. These arrests were the culmination of a long investigation involving federal and international law enforcement agencies. Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale of the FBI said that in addition to the $13 million in losses incurred, another $56 million were disrupted or returned to the victims.