Money laundering is fun to talk about. It just sounds cool to begin with. And the whole process is fascinating to me. It is important to know that money laundering is not a fraud scheme. It is a crime that is committed to cover up other crimes, but it is …
There may be nothing more disheartening in the world of fraud investigation than a church employee caught embezzling. Unfortunately, there are fairly regular news reports of financial fraud at churches. Fraud hits churches hard. Many churches operate on shoestring budgets to begin with. A sizable fraud can put a church …
Last week Thursday, 19 people were charged in federal court with defrauding the National Basketball Association Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of almost $4 million. The charges are conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. One defendant, Terrence Williams, is also charged with aggravated identity theft. The …
Both civil and criminal cases often involve an element of proving or disproving income of an individual or business. It is not unusual for a divorce case to include allegations of hidden income or assets. In contract disputes alleging the loss of sales or profits, an accurate determination of income …
I had to write about this IRS special agent because his fraud story is so wild. Bryan Cho (aka Yong Hee Cho) was a Special Agent in the IRS Criminal Investigation Division since 2008. And now he’s been charged with possession of a fake foreign passport, aggravated identity theft, making …
My idea of a good time: Digging through boxes of documents for hours on end, looking for that smoking gun that proves an employee was stealing from a business. An attorney’s idea of a good time: Going to court with the expert witness who proved the employee was stealing, and …
The most interesting cases I work are criminal cases for defendants accused of financial crimes such as money laundering, tax fraud, bribery and corruption, embezzlement, and investment fraud. I do my best work as a forensic accountant and fraud investigator in cases in which a trail of money must be …
This morning Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) was charged criminally for paying bribes to Chinese officials. The action is related to criminal liability under FCPA (U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act). The company disclosed in an SEC filing today: Herbalife violated the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA The …
If you try to research fraud by millennials (those born between 1980 and 1994, currently 26-40 years old, also referred to as Gen Y), most everything you find will be about them being victims of fraud. It appears that millennials are the age group most likely to fall for financial …
Does anyone remember Kevin Trudeau? He’s been in prison for the last six years, so you may have forgotten about him. Kevin Trudeau used to be called the “infomercial king” because he did a bunch of wildly successful infomercials selling “natural cures.” Between the natural cures and the weight loss …
