Executive FraudExecutive FraudExecutives that commit fraud are stealing out of your pocket! Learn about fraud protection from this blog for things such as credit card fraud. Awareness is crucial to ensure that they are not allowed to continue committing fraud.
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Healthcare Fraud - Miami Florida
2007-03-25 05:44:00 Recently federal prosecutors have filed criminal proceedings for a Miami healthcare fraud that is seeking to recover over $30 million from several medical clinics and durable medical equipment companies. The fraud scheme involved kickbacks to the defendants for sending patients to their respective pharmacies. Patients were also discovered to have sold their Medicare information in order to file bogus prescriptions from crooked doctors that would then be filled by these pharmacies. Testimony in court revealed that patients were paid $100-150 per month in order to commit Medicare fraud. By compounding their own non-FDA approved drugs they were able to bill Medicare for over priced drugs then pay their patients to return again for a similar kickback deal. Medicare fraud has a significant impact on the quality of care that can ultimately be provided to those seniors and disable members that actually need these resources. More About: Health , Fraud , Healthcare , Florida
Healthcare Fraud - Miami Florida
2007-03-25 05:44:00 Recently federal prosecutors have filed criminal proceedings for a Miami healthcare fraud that is seeking to recover over $30 million from several medical clinics and durable medical equipment companies. The fraud scheme involved kickbacks to the defendants for sending patients to their respective pharmacies. Patients were also discovered to have sold their Medicare information in order to file bogus prescriptions from crooked doctors that would then be filled by these pharmacies. Testimony in court revealed that patients were paid $100-150 per month in order to commit Medicare fraud. By compounding their own non-FDA approved drugs they were able to bill Medicare for over priced drugs then pay their patients to return again for a similar kickback deal. Medicare fraud has a significant impact on the quality of care that can ultimately be provided to those seniors and disable members that actually need these resources. More About: Health , Fraud , Healthcare , Florida
Click Fraud - Yahoo Reviews Market Place Quality
2007-03-23 17:31:00 Following Google's release of their click fraud report and the subsequent criticism of its accuracy, Yahoo has responded in their own way bringing in Reggie Davis to deter click fraud. His main focuses will be ensuring quality in clicks, traffic, and network placement. To address the largest concern for advertisers, Yahoo is looking to allow blocking traffic from certain areas that are known for having the highest levels of click fraud. This appears to be a statement here that they intend to respond to the concerns of their advertisers but they have also still not subjected themselves to a study to determine the prevalance of click fraud to date either. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out for their ad program. More About: Views , Reviews , Fraud , Market
What companies are likely to have violated the rules and to what extent is
2007-03-23 04:31:00 Heron and Lie in their study provide characteristics of companies that have seen the highest incident of option manipulation. They found the typical firm is: in the technology industry, small in size (under $100 million market capitalization), high in stock price volatility and a client of non-Big 4 accounting firms for their annual audit. Also, their study uncovered that roughly 29% of top executives? options during 1996-2005 were backdated. The new requirement of the 2 day filing has improved reporting substantially but they found that after August 2002 there was still roughly 10% option manipulation. The continuing problem is largely caused by companies? blatant disregard for the filing requirement. More About: Companies , Comp , What , Hat , Rules
Mortgage Fraud: LHS Mortgage Inc.
2007-03-15 03:22:00 Prior Lake mortgage broker, Ronald Joseph, has recently been discovered to have commited wire fraud, mail fraud, and acts of money laundering. The Minnesota fraud scheme used fradulent loan applications and settlement statements in order to conceal illegal payments totaling over $2.5 million to himself and others involved in the fraud. By adjusting the purchase price of properties on loan applications Joseph was able to steal the difference. Many of the people involved had prior criminal records and had there have been proper due dilligence during the hiring process this fraud could have been prevented or at least detected much sooner. This is another prime example of the value of quality background checks. More About: Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Mortgage , Frau , Gage
Fraud Investigation: Secondary Evidence
2007-03-13 21:45:00 When are Photocopies Acceptable in Fraud Cases? In all cases the court must establish that the original document existed and that the copy is genuine. In the following situations the evidence is permissible: 1. Original no longer exists but it was of no intent or fault of the partying attempting to introduce the evidence. 2. Original has not been provided by the other party or the document is outside the juridiction of the subpoena. 3. Original has already been filed and is currently in the custody of a public office. 4. Original document is too large for an appropriate examination in court and a summary copy would be more acceptable for the courts needs. More About: Evidence , Fraud Investigation , Vest , Second
Detecting Fraud
2007-03-11 22:42:00 Process of Proactive Detection of Frau d 1. Build the Proper Team Regardless to the total size of the team, there should be at least three specific experts. The first is a domain expert that has an inside perspective of the industry and the business. The second is a technology specialist that is familiar with the system being used by the company. Lastly there needs to be someone familiar with fraud and the symptoms involved with it. 2. Team Must Develop an Understanding of the Business Similar to any audit plan, a fraud investigation must be customized to the particular company being observed. All business are different thus they clearly have differing areas of potential fraud. After identifying the different functional business areas the team should walk through, talk with employees, observe procedures, review documentation, and other learning the business procedures. 3. Perform a Risk Assessment Based on the understanding gained about the different areas of business the tea...
Insider Trading: Able Laboratories
2007-03-11 03:01:00 The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed charges against Shashikant C. Shah, formerly VP for Able Labor atories. While working for the generic drug manufacturer, Shah had made profits of $909,000 in profits from selling his stock in Able on non-public information. During the course of Shah's job as VP of quality control he knew that their testing practices were considered faulty thus the drugs that they were selling where of poor quality. Trading on non-public information such as this is not only insider trading but also is a danger to those allowed to purchase and use these poorly made drugs. Following these allegations Shah has consented to provisions requiring that for the next five years he can't serve as an executive for any publicly traded company and he must pay back all the insider trading profits from the sale of Able securities. Able has since filed for bankruptcy back in 2005 and has been forced to sell substantially all their assets. The ... More About: Borat , Tories , Inside
FBI Issues Mortgage Fraud Prevention Warnings
2007-03-09 03:37:09 The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is cracking down on financing fraud by enforcing fines & potential prison time. In the FBI's agreement with the Mortgage Bankers Association they are seeking to educated consumers of the penalties of fradulent activity. Financial institutions are currently required to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to law enforcement. These filings have been on the rise since 2004 and have more than doubled by 2006 totaling 36,000 reports. Estimated losses to federally backed financial institutions are just shy of $1 billion. As the mortgage industry has a large effect on the national economy, the crack down on fraud is likely to continue strong into the future. The FBI has taken the first step by issuing the Mortgage Fraud Notice. More About: Event , Mortgage Fraud , Fraud Prevention , Issues
Symptoms of Fraud
2007-03-09 03:37:09 Fraud Symptom Categories 1. Internal Control Problems - material weakness The first thing to remember when looking at internal controls is the fraud triangle. Without all three elements of opportunity, pressure and rationalization it is less likely that fraud will occur. By creating controls that prevent these elements or detect them in a timely manner after occurance managers can effectively monitor compliance. Specific internal control issues stem from the organizations structure. Examples of symptoms of control deficiencies include a lack of the following: segregation of duties, independent verification, proper authorization, physical safeguards, overriding the system in place, and proper documentation. 2. Analytical Irregularities These symptoms are unusual relationships of current financial statement ratios are compared to prior years. The analytical tests identify those transactions that are extreme cases and fall outside of the normal distribution of values. Commo... More About: Fraud , Frau , Symptoms
Fraud Prevention
2007-03-08 15:36:03 Fraud Prevention : Most cost effective way to reduce losses from fraud Create & Maintain an Appropriate Culture Culture is important in any organization but to have the appropriate attitude of honesty and high ethical standards is important to prevent fraud. Management must demonstrate this model by providing a tone at the top emphasis on this culture. After setting the tone, management must follow up on this commitment by hiring the right people for the job and ensuring that their hiring policies are effective at eliminating those people that do not meet the standards set by the culture. The hiring process should entail some form of background check in order to gather some information about their past ethicial behavior. After acceptance of new employees, management should clearly communicate their expectations and require written confirmation of a mutual understanding of these expectations. Methods of Establishing Ethical Corporate Culture 1. Code of Conduct - Should id... More About: Event , Fraud , Fraud Prevention , Frau
Verisign Fraud - Class Action Lawsuit
2007-03-08 15:36:03 Background United States district court, northern district of California was the start of Verisign’s (“the Company”) class action complaint for a violation of securities laws. Plaintiff, James H. Harrison Jr., on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated filed vs. Verisign, Inc., Stratton D. Sclavos, Robert J. Korzeniewski, Dana L. Evan and Quintin P. Gallivan. The “class” period is for people who purchased shares of the company between January 25 and April 25 2002. The defendant Verisign is headquartered in Mountain View California and offers users the ability to engage in secure digital commerce and communications. Verisign’s stock is traded on the NASDQ national market. Allegations The allegation is that the defendants tried to artificially increase the Company’s revenue and create the perception that its deferred revenue was being generated organically rather than through acquisition. It is claimed that the Company deriv... More About: Fraud , Action , Lawsuit , Laws , Class Action Lawsuit
Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Values on Rise
2007-03-08 15:36:03 Possible Reasons for the Variation in Settlements 1.Investor losses – 50% explanation, single most powerful predictors 2.Accounting firms are a co-defendant Since SOX and scandals like Enron, the legal system, jurors, and the media have been very critical about the professional ethics of accountants. It is not surprising that the average settlement involving accounting firms is nearly double if they were not involved. It is also expected to be a higher settlement if there are allegations of accounting improprieties but if they are deemed irregularities then it is expected to increase even further. A reason for this seems to be pockets of multinational accounting firms are deeper then some of the clients in the lawsuit. The accounting restatements that seem to follow these situations have less of an impression on settlements which is thought to be a nature of their commonality. 3.Cases with any kind of official investigation, consent decree or penalty 4.Institutional inv... More About: Action , Lawsuit , Laws , Class Action Lawsuit , Men
Class Action Lawsuit Filings on Decline
2007-03-08 15:36:03 Possible Reasons for the Decline of Filings 1.The passage of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) in 2002 SOX has public companies on the forefront of documenting controls and establishing corporate governance. Some think that this oversight has limited fraud therefore there is less of a need for shareholder class actions. Although the research considers the differences across industries and court circuits there is not supporting evidence that proves a correlation of SOX regulation to the decrease in federal filings. 2.Law firms that are the largest filers are currently tied up in legal battles Firms such as Milberg Weiss have been subject to high profile federal trials that have led to serious losses for their partnership. Lerach Coughlin on the other hand has had much of their resources tied up with the Enron case that has turned into the largest settlement to date and the costs are still adding up. If it were the case that firms were having limited resource problems therefore unable to file... More About: Action , Lawsuit , Laws , Class Action Lawsuit , Class Act
Fraud Investigation: Theft Investigative Methods
More articles from this author:2007-03-08 15:36:03 1. Surveillance This method is legal if they do not invade a person's reasonable expectation of privacy. It is better to consult legal council and/or the HR department in order to predict the likely events. Surveillance can be done either stationary/fixed point or moving/trailing. When using both methods it is important to keep a detailed record of all the activities (date, position, time, etc). Trailing has great rewards but has the danger of being caught leading to a higher failure rate. Electronic surveillance may be done by law enforcement using wire-tapping and video cameras. 2. Covert/Undercover Operations These operations can be time consuming and costly so should only be used when: Large scale collusive fraud, other methods fail, solid predication, secretive in nature, and it complies with the laws of the organization. When an appropriate amount of information is collected it is necessary to inform the authorities. 3. Invigilation Detailed records should be maintain... More About: Fraud , Fraud Investigation , Vest , Frau , Investigation 1, 2 |
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