Artios Leadership

  Occasionally, I post articles that are directly related to fraud examination and investigation. This is one of those articles. Note that this does not constitute legal or accounting advice, but is for information only. Consult applicable laws and licensed counsel. The use of criminal statutes to enforce fraud or recover assets associated with criminal activity is a common avenue toward ensuring justice is served.  But, in reality, and for so many victims, as well as fraud examiners, there is a whole other realm that must be considered—the civil process.  There are a lot of similarities in working a criminal fraud case (since many fraud cases start out as a civil matter).   The investigation is nearly exactly the same as a criminal investigation (and you can never know when one will become the other).  But what is different for investigators to understand is that there are different tools available, and generally you have to work closely with an attorney to obt...

  It’s #redflag Friday. Each Friday, I will share a specific indicator to be on the lookout for fraud, waste, corruption, or other misconduct.   🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 Purchase cards are helpful to expedite and obtain needed supplies, repair services, and smaller items that may not need to go through a longer, formal procurement process. But they can be misused just as any credit or debit card. One recent case involved a Director of Maintenance who approached vendors to provide him with regular cash payments of approximately $1,000 to $2,000 per month; in exchange for those payments, the vendors falsely billed his employer using their purchase card system for items that the vendor sold but ultimately never provided (or never intended to provide). Because the false purchase charges covered the cash payments, they also provided a substantial amount of fraudulent income to the vendor. What purchase card controls are in place? Who actually has them (and do they REALLY need them)...

It’s #redflag Friday. Each Friday, I will share a specific indicator to be on the lookout for fraud, waste, corruption, or other misconduct.   🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 Part three of information technology and #fraud.  IT professionals have unprecedented access to information, which they can misuse. For a two year period, one IT manager used his position and access to obtain confidential information and exploited market-moving stock recommendations prior to their release to paying subscribers.  The IT manager then traded on them before they became public and was able to obtain significant profits unavailable to other market participants.  These total gains included at least $3.5 million. What information is so sensitive that its access should be tracked and logged? Have you audited your system logs lately? What unusual or odd patterns can emerge? And who is the independent party who can help determine if there is (or could be) a problem? #compliance    ...