Fraud in the News

Another scandal at the Vatican

According to a Sept. 3 article, Leaders of Sistine Chapel Choir Face Vatican Fraud Investigation, by Elisabetta Povoledo in The New York Times, the latest scandal in the holy city isn’t what you might expect — this time it’s money laundering, fraud and embezzlement. Following suspicious activity by two of the Sistine Chapel Choir ensemble’s leaders, Pope Francis approved an investigation of its financial and administrative records. Vatican prosecutors are leading the probe.

Choirmaster Massimo Palombella and Michelangelo Nardella, administrative director, are accused of siphoning money from the choir’s concert tours to pay for personal expenses. Before the scandal surfaced, the choir scheduled several tour dates in the U.S., but those were canceled. The Sistine Chapel Choir claims to be the oldest in the world, comprised of both children and adults. As of publication, the investigation’s ongoing.

Goodbye prison, hello halfway house

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling is back in the news. After serving only 14 years of his 24-year sentence, Skilling is trading his prison cell for something more comfortable. According to an Aug. 30 Houston Chronicle article by L.M. Sixel, Ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling released from prison and sent to halfway house, a federal judge reduced Skilling’s prison sentence five years ago. He’s scheduled to be released from an undisclosed halfway house in February 2019.

In one of the country’s biggest corporate fraud scandals in history, Skilling was found guilty in 2006 of 12 counts of securities fraud, five counts of making false statements, one count of insider trading and one count of conspiracy. He was also fined $45 million. He received the harshest sentence of the convicted Enron executives.

Skilling’s convictions stemmed from deceiving Enron investors and falsely inflating the company’s profits.

According to the article, dormitory-style halfway houses help inmates find jobs and re-enter society.

8 weird tricks to spot online health scams

According to a Sept. 14 Canadian Global news article by Leslie Young, These 8 weird tricks can help you spot health scams online, researchers are warning consumers to beware. Scientists at the University of British Columbia discovered an increase in online ads promising weight loss or larger muscles by purchasing certain supplements, but these products aren’t regulated with proven scientific affects. The supplements also can interact with other drugs and cause serious harm.

According to the article, researchers at the university compiled a list of tips that might indicate an online health scam, including celebrity endorsements, claims of reliability or psychological persuasion, and pseudo-technical language. Researchers suggest talking to a doctor before trying any online gimmicks.