Investigation

Murder, money laundering and the demise of Pablo Escobar

Retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents Steve Murphy and Javier Peña — the inspirations behind the hit show “Narcos” on Netflix — tell the tale of their time in Colombia, investigating and capturing notorious narcoterrorist and Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. Not everything you see on TV is true, but their story comes pretty close.

Supply-chain fraud is alive and escalating

The last time you probably thought about supply chains was during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis when the toilet-paper shelves were empty. But that TP had to wend its way through a complex journey from pulp mills to your home that involved many parties and chains of events. Disrupt just one step — say because of pandemic fears or fraud — and the chain breaks. Here’s how to help prevent supply chains from fraudulent acts and mitigate them when they do break.

Ignore waving red flags? Pay the cost

Organizations can’t afford to be oblivious. Anti-fraud professionals are trained to be skeptical. They should teach their “trust but verify” skills to all in their spheres. Here are some cases in which the players didn’t see (or refused to acknowledge) flaming-red flying flags and paid the cost in loss of cash and reputations.

Recovering illicit assets offshore might become a bit easier

The British Overseas Territories (such as The Cayman Islands) and the British Crown Dependencies traditionally have been jurisdictions fraudsters use to hide proceeds of crime. However, recent legislation on the Islands could make it easier to conduct investigations into fraud and white-collar crime.

Benford's Law still works

Can Benford’s Law practically identify fraud? It’s one of many tests you can use to discover fictitious numbers in supposedly random datasets, such as monetary amounts of purchase transactions. In this case, a comptroller successfully uses Benford’s Law to search for anomalies in warranty claims.

‘A wink and a nod’ can’t rename high-tech government bribes

Raushi Conrad was a longtime, well-liked U.S. federal government high-tech specialist. He bucked the stereotype of the aloof, arrogant IT worker. But an anonymous email led to an investigation that showed he’d committed a one-man $1 million internal fraud scheme that involved chicken restaurants, computer viruses and “wink-and-a-nod” briberies. Here’s how to fend off similar high-tech crimes.

The overlooked factor

A business can legitimately sell its outstanding invoices for a percentage of their face value to receive money quickly to expedite cash flow. The process allows nearly $3 trillion in transactions per year worldwide. However, invoice factoring is vulnerable to fraudsters. This case shows red flags and susceptibilities.

Daphne's message lives on

For years, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia probed the activities of Malta’s ruling elite. She shared her findings — drug smuggling, money laundering, government corruption — on her blog, “Running Commentary,” and was regularly intimidated for her work. In 2017, she was murdered in a car bombing in Malta. Thousands have mourned her and demanded justice. Her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, shares his mother’s story and how he and other investigative journalists worldwide are honoring her legacy.

Fraudsters don’t stand a chance against Superman

Incidences of fraud and counterfeiting are escalating in most high-stakes collectibles markets — take art fraud, coin fraud and wine fraud, for example. But the vintage comic- book industry stands impervious even as comic book values soar.

One step forward, two steps back

Fraud examiners are always working to persuade management to search for internal fraud and adopt wise prevention controls. However, anti-fraud professionals can only give their best counsel and then work hard for a good outcome. Here are a fraud examiner’s early successes in a case and later frustrating management decisions. Regardless, he’s not daunted.

Study illicit ‘exfiltration’ and cryptocurrency to prevent fraud

Cryptocurrencies and cybercriminals aren’t going anywhere. Here’s how some fraud examiners discovered systematic patterns of attacker activity at a bank and instituted controls that protected the institution and helped a cryptocurrency exchange prevent future attacks.

Happy 80th birthday to the term ‘white-collar crime’

You might not know it, but today is an important day for you. On Dec. 27, 1939 — 80 years ago — criminologist Dr. Edwin Sutherland, while speaking to the American Sociological Society, coined “white-collar crime” and placed the cornerstone in the foundation for the fraud examination profession.