Former Detroit Mayor Back in the News In June of 2011 I wrote about former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been back in the news, for a conviction on a plethora of charges, including racketeering, fraud, and extortion. He was found guilty of 24 of the 30 charges brought against him. Kilpatrick was joined [...]
Debt Collection, or Lack Thereof As reported recently by The Long Beach Post, according to an audit of the City's Business Relation Bureau that spanned two years, $2.4 to $2.6 million in outstanding business license accounts have not been collected by the City of Long Beach. http://www.lbpost.com/business/2000001889-city-auditor-2-4-to-2-6m-in-delinquent-business-license-accounts-uncollected#.UTTbYldZ_Q8 Residents are fuming at the lack of tenacity [...]
It's always stunning to me how many families represent almost no taxable income but live in splendor in vast palatial estates in fancy neighborhoods. They often have a matched pair of incredibly expensive German cars in the driveway. Their kids go to private schools and the family passports are stamped from a variety of exotic [...]
What does bankruptcy approval for the City of Stockton mean for other California cities? Perhaps it paves the way for other California cities (such as the City of San Bernardino who filed for bankruptcy protection in August) to do the same. According to Cal Watchdog, Your Eyes on California Government, the City of Stockton owes [...]
Municipal Fraud Prevention Part 3 of 3 - Have checks and balances, and routinely ask yourself if loopholes exist - Cheap comes out expensive, hire external auditors, forensic accountants, and certified fraud examiners - Turnover in your finance department isn’t always a bad thing- in some cases, an extensive level of familiarity breeds corruption - [...]
Municipal Fraud Prevention- West Linn Part 2 of 3 The current West Linn Finance Department (after the 1.42 million dollar scandal), much like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, crafted a new mission statement. The forward moving department proclaims proudly “being good stewards of taxpayers’ monies is the Finance Department’s main focus, but that alone [...]
As moneys become tight and budgets continue to be squeezed, financial vigilance must be increased. Anti-fraud controls must be developed. Systems must continue to be reviewed and analyzed to reduce the chance of fraud. This problem at the Santa Clara Unified School District may have been averted with proper internal oversight. The link will also [...]
This time is was $900k being separated from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. What's killing me it that it was the CFO. Another clue, from the article "...she liked to play the slots at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City...". Over a 6 year period of time this money diss appeared. Would had been discovered if [...]
CPA Jerome Johnson, principle of The Forensic Firm in New Mexico has an excellent video, which discusses the issue of spouses hiding assets.
As we close in on April 15, the traditional tax filing hysteria with all the media attention helps spawn another side industry – tax scams. This time of year criminals use the fear of IRS to prey on victims and get them to disclose valuable info to steal identities and money. The IRS issued a [...]
