• First ‘Survivor’ winner found guilty of tax evasion

    Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of ‘Survivor’ was convicted of evading taxes on his winnings, as well as money earned as a radio show host and earnings from a rental property. He faces prison time of up […]

  • Wisconsin Fraud: State official accused of corruption

    Georgia Thompson, a purchasing division supervisor in the Wisconsin Department of Administration has been charged in federal court with 2 felonies. The charges include misapplication of funds and participating in a scheme to defraud the State. The charges stem from […]

  • Milwaukee Fraud: Museum Considers Hiring Forensic Auditors

    The audit committee of the Milwaukee County Board is considering hiring an outside forensic accounting firm to perform a forensic audit on the finances of the Milwaukee Public Museum. This project would cost between $50,000 and $100,000. The project is […]

  • Ameriquest Mortgage offers settlement to consumers

    Ameriquest Mortgage Co. has offered $325 million to settle accusations of predatory lending in 49 states. Consumers in Wisconsin will receive over $2.7 million of the total. The company was accused of using high-pressure tactics and deception to sell mortgages […]

  • Milwaukee Fraud: Voter suppression

    Four men pleaded guilty last week Friday to misdemeanor charges of property damage for their participation in the Election Day 2004 tire-slashing. The defendants were all workers for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, and the 40 tires they slashed were on 25 […]

  • Survivor winner Richard Hatch goes to trial on tax evasion charges

    The first winner of my all-time favorite television show, Survivor, is on trial for alleged tax evasion. Richard Hatch is accused of not reporting to the IRS his earnings from Survivor, as well as not paying taxes on other income. […]

  • United States releases U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment (MLTA)

    A government-wide analysis of the threat of money laundering in the United States has been released. Sixteen government agencies participated in assembling the data, including the Departments of Treasury, Justice, Homeland Security, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve […]

  • Green Bay Packers Fraud: Brett Favre’s Identity Theft

    William Joachim of West Phoenix had been arrested on suspicion of using Brett Favre’s credit card over 40 times. He was arrest on four felony charges related to identity theft. Two other men were also arrested in the case, and […]

  • CPA Sleuths: Bringing the Truth to Light

    On Balance – The Magazine for Wisconsin CPAs – January/February 2006 By Colleen Smith Like a Perry Mason movie brought to life is the way some forensic accountants describe their jobs. Investigations and courtrooms are part of their everyday lives, […]

  • Office Piracy: A Trusted Employee Becomes a Worst Enemy

    Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF On Balance – The Magazine for Wisconsin CPAs – January/February 2006 It felt like my gut had been ripped out. Fifteen years of our lives went down the drain. He took our trust […]