Credit Card Skimming All accountants would agree, one of the most important things for you to do, is protect your financial assets. Often we forget that we are only one swipe away from being scammed out of our money at the gas pump, restaurants, and ATM machines. “How is this possible?”, you may ask. A [...]
Every two years the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner releases a study on fraud in their Report to the Nation. The 2018 report was recently released and I found the following facts to be very interesting. Over $7 billion in total losses. This number continues to increase. A majority of the victims recovered nothing. [...]
Is there really such a thing as a forensic audit? We get asked by attorneys frequently if we can perform a forensic audit. The truth is, there is no official product or service that a CPA offers that is called a “Forensic Audit”. This is a term that has been bantered about in the legal [...]
Working with companies who have been victims of fraud on a regular basis, the report provided by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners for 2014, hits the nail on the head. Here is a summary of their findings: Typical organization loses 5% of revenue each year to fraud. Median loss in their study was $145K. [...]
Hendrix Montecastro, Helen Pedrino Convicted in $142 Million Ponzi Scheme in Riverside The Associated Press reported the real estate investment scam to be approximately $142 million in fiscal scope. The defendants used seminars, internet ads, and word of mouth to lure people in Riverside County, California and Arizona to invest in a series of shell [...]
Last month the web was inundated with news of allegations made against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s charity, the Skyhook Foundation based out of Long Beach, CA. In 2009 when the foundation opened, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar said “I have decided to open up the Skyhook Foundation to improve people’s lives through sports and education because my life could not [...]
What is Affinity Fraud? I recently stumbled upon a 3-part video on Affinity Fraud, aptly titled Affinity Fraud: Preying on Those Who Pray. Every year, billions of dollars (in the U.S. alone) are stolen from unsuspecting victims of this kind of fraud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUv4dDavC6U&list=PLDF985F76B59B68E7&index=1 Simply put, although there’s nothing simple about it, affinity fraud occurs when [...]
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 [...]
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- 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 [...]
