October 2007 – Fraud Files Forensic Accounting Blog

Usana Insider in Charge of Asia Pacific Unloads Tons of Stock After Minkow Exposes Company for Cheating in China

4 May 201231 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Insider: Bradford Richardson, Executive Vice President of Asia Pacific

Company Bio: Bradford joined USANA in December 1997 as executive director of international development, and from 1999-2005 held the roles of vice president of international development and vice president of international. In January 2006, he was appointed executive vice president of Asia Pacific, and currently has profit & loss responsibility for USANA’s operations in the Asia Pacific region. Additionally, Bradford is responsible for the definition and execution of USANA’s international expansion strategy.

Best Buy Sells You A Box Of Bathroom Tiles Instead Of Hard Drive, No Refund

27 December 200729 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Sam says that he went to BestBuy.com and bought a hard drive for in-store pick up. What he got was a box of bathroom tiles. Now Best Buy is saying he’d better take it up with manufacturer and that they’re not going to issue a refund and that Sam should just take his loss. We … Read more Best Buy Sells You A Box Of Bathroom Tiles Instead Of Hard Drive, No Refund

Why Patrick Byrne is a horrible spokesperson for school vouchers

14 August 201129 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

I am in favor of school vouchers. It has worked well in Milwaukee. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. Is the system perfect? No. But the public schools here are terrible, and at the very least, the voucher program gives children an alternative.

Does the voucher program help everyone? No. Some parents are not involved with their children and don’t really care, so they don’t utilize the program. But for the low-income households with parents who care, it has been fantastic.

Overtime Lawsuits For Big Auditing Firm: Could It Lead to Problems For Other Firms?

4 November 201129 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Class action suits against auditing firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche are raising questions about future lawsuits. Auditors are suing PwC because they say they were denied overtime pay and benefits, and the suit covers all associates and senior associates of PwC in California.

The firm is saying that the auditors were properly classified as exempt employees under California law, and therefore they were not entitled to overtime pay.

Merrill Lynch CEO to step down on Monday

28 October 200728 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Stan O’Neal, CEO of Merrill Lynch, is said to be stepping down on Monday. He is not going willingly, however. The board of directors was meeting this weekend to discuss candidates for the postition. O’Neal’s departure comes following an $8.4 billion writedown in the third quarter, with most of that related to mortgage-related assets. Up … Read more Merrill Lynch CEO to step down on Monday

NAACP Wants Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com to Apologize

29 May 201227 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com made a teeny little goof this week. Well, okay… it wasn’t so teeny. It was pretty bad.

Byrne was part of a debate on school vouchers in Utah, which he favors. During the debate, he said that when minority students don’t graduate from high school, “you might as well burn them.”

Yet in true Patrick “Sith Lord Conspiracy” Byrne style, he’s denying it. The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Getting around the Do Not Call Registry

26 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

Companies that relied heavily on telemarketing were hit hard by the Do Not Call list. They were severely limited in doing cold calls over the telephone. Anyone on the Do Not Call list was off-limits, and today that totals about 145 million phone numbers. One of the ways companies get around the list, is by … Read more Getting around the Do Not Call Registry

Sam Antar v. Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com

14 August 201124 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

The regular readers of this blog are familiar with the issues at Overstock.com. The company can’t turn a profit to save its life, but CEO Patrick Byrne blames that on short sellers. The fact is that the financial statements have some curious things in them, but Byrne never gets around to actually straightening out all the discrepancies.

This week Sam Antar offered Byrne an opportunity to do just that… explain discrepancies and answer questions.

You see, Patrick Byrne thought he was being cute during last week’s earnings call when he said:

Sam Antar, if you want to join us as an [inter-locketer], I have to stick around — I have to leave in 15 minutes but I’m hoping you’ll join, Sam.

This is none other than the Patrick Byrne who believes a Sith Lord is masterminding a conspiracy that is causing Overstock.com to be a horrible company. The same Patrick Byrne whose underlings threaten teenage bloggers. The same Patrick Byrne who is so interested in his job that he’s busy playing on the internet while he’s supposed to be paying attention to an earnings conference call for investors. The same Patrick Byrne who posts messages about Overstock.com on discussion boards without disclosing that he is the CEO of the company he’s hyping. The same Patrick Byrne whose financial statements hint to the possibility of earnings management.

Beware: Natural Disasters Create an Opportunity for Fraud

3 April 201624 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

A major natural disaster such as the California wildfires does more damage than just what you see. When the cleanup and restoration begin, there can be more trouble in the form of fraud.

Isn’t fraud the last thing you should be thinking about? Isn’t the most important thing to just recover from the disaster and move forward? Yes, that’s important. But unfortunately, unscrupulous people and businesses make the issue of fraud something that cannot be ignored.

The most obvious opportunity for fraud starts with contractors who clean, restore, and replace destroyed property. Dishonest contractors may use the widespread need for services as an opportunity to overcharge insurance companies and property owners. They may bill for work not performed, unfairly inflate prices, or not complete projects.

Flip This House lawsuit update

14 August 201123 October 2007 by Tracy Coenen

This information is old (from early June), but since I have so many people reaching my site with searches related to Flip This House, I thought I’d print it anyway.

I wrote previously about the lawsuit between A&E and Richard Davis of Trademark Properties here and here. Most of my information was derived from a website called Flip This Lawsuit. The owner of that site summarized a June 6 hearing on summary judgment motions made by A&E. Essentially, A&E said that no written contract existed between them and Davis/Trademark, and that the verbal contract wasn’t what Davis claims it is.

Important issues decided during this hearing, per Flip This Lawsuit: