30

Attorney and Accountant Indicted in Largest Medical Insurance Fraud Case

The California Department of Insurance and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) announced the unsealing of criminal grand jury indictments in the largest medical fraud prosecution in the nation, charging the final two defendants for their role in the Unity Outpatient Surgery Center scheme, in which $154 million was fraudulently billed to medical insurance companies. (Read more...)

Tel Aviv-based banker pleads guilty in US fraud case

A Tel Aviv-based banker with United Mizrahi Bank pleaded guilty to setting up secret bank accounts in Israel that, prosecutors say, helped charitable contributors to an orthodox Jewish group evade US taxes. (Read more...)

Business fraud in UK 'rises 74%'

Reported fraud committed against UK firms rose 74%, costing companies £705m in the first half of the year according to the accountants BDO Stoy Hayward. (Read more...)

29

Ala. lawyer asks jury for $800M in drug fraud case

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An attorney for Alabama asked jurors Monday to award the state as much as $800 million from two pharmaceutical companies accused of overcharging for Medicaid drugs.

The state claims GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis engaged in fraud from 1991 to 2005, depriving the cash-strapped Medicaid program of badly needed resources. Attorneys for the two firms said the companies followed federal rules and the prices were proper. (Read more...)

28

Jury deliberates for 4th day in Ky. fraud trial

Jurors in the trial of three suspended attorneys charged with pilfering $65 million from their clients in a diet drug settlement posed a technical question about attorneys fees on Friday. (Read more...)

Liechtenstein moves to end EU tax fraud row

BRUSSELS (AFP) — Liechtenstein, at the centre of a major tax fraud row early this year, has pledged to boost cooperation with the EU in an effort to avoid future problems, a government spokesman said Friday. (Read more...)

India arrests 69 in fraud inquiry

Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh say they have arrested 69 people as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud and embezzlement. (Read more...)

27

Aussies lose $980m in scams and fraud

PERSONAL fraud costs Australians nearly $1 billion a year, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (Read more...)

Rezko witness' business partner charged with fraud

CHICAGO - A suburban doctor heard on FBI tapes discussing alleged corruption with a key government witness against convicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko has been indicted on charges of fraud and lying to the FBI. (Read more...)

Judge Reduces Adelphia Fraud Sentences

The prison sentences of a father-and-son pair of former cable television executives have been reduced by three years after an appeals court dismissed one of the two bank fraud counts for which they were convicted. (Read more...)

Greencore sacks senior managers over accounting fraud

The UK's largest sandwich maker, Greencore, has axed three senior managers after discovering £15.8m worth of accounting fraud. (Read more...)

UBS Charged With Fraud

BOSTON — - Massachusetts regulators filed civil fraud charges Thursday against UBS Financial Services, accusing it of selling investments that it knew were extremely risky, but portrayed as safe. (Read more...)

Former Victoria mutual funds dealer faces 25 counts of fraud

VANCOUVER — A man who worked as a Victoria mutual funds dealer is facing fraud charges in a scheme in which police say investors lost $10 million. (Read more...)

Football giant felled: Dench jailed on million-dollar fraud

FOOTBALL great David Dench spent his first night in jail after a County Court jury yesterday found him guilty of fraud and bribery over his part in a multimillion-dollar scam on Victoria University. (Read more...)

26

Six Indicted for $15 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Agencies participating in the Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force today began arresting six current or former Dayton-area residents accused of operating an extensive mortgage fraud scheme affecting 210 residential properties, including 205 in Montgomery County, along with 63 investors, and leading to foreclosure of more than 90 percent of the properties. A federal grand jury indicted the six defendants yesterday. (Read more...)

How the Bear Stearns Fraud Case Unfolded

The FBI showed up on the doorstep of Bear Stearns executive Matthew Tannin on a Friday night early last fall. Agents wanted to talk to him about possibly providing some evidence against his boss at Bear Stearns, hedge fund manager Ralph Cioffi. Tannin's response was brief, "Talk to my lawyer." (Read more…)

25

Black loses appeal of obstruction and fraud charges

The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled against former newspaper magnate Conrad Black in his appeal of his fraud and obstruction of justice convictions. (Read more…)

24

Livent whistleblower blasted at fraud trial

Prominent lawyer Edward Greenspan is accusing Livent's former chief financial officer, who claims to have blown the whistle on cooked books at the theatre production company, of actually being part of the cover-up. (Read more…) 

Feds charge 22-year-old Pentagon contractor with procurement fraud

A Miami-based defense contractor has been charged with defrauding the federal government by delivering faulty, decades-old munitions to Afghan security forces. (Read more…)

Broadcom co-founder Samueli pleads guilty in stock options fraud case

Technology billionaire and philanthropist Henry Samueli pleaded guilty Monday to a felony charge of lying to regulators about his role in an alleged plot to secretly reward his Broadcom Corp. employees by manipulating stock options. (Read more…)

FBI promises more fraud arrests

A senior FBI officer has told the BBC that more arrests will be made as part of its probe into mortgage fraud and the credit crunch. (Read more…)

23

HSBC opens Chip and PIN credit card centres

Doha • HSBC yesterday formally opened a new distribution centre for Chip and PIN credit cards. The centre is located behind the main HSBC branch on Grand Hamad Street. The bank is issuing the new Chip and PIN Credits Cards to all existing customers. New customers are already being issued with Chip and PIN cards. (Read more…)

22

Detectives to travel to US to gather evidence on Olmert-Talansky affair

Two detectives from the National Fraud Unit will fly to the United States on Sunday evening to gather evidence for the police investigation over funds given to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert by New York businessman Morris Talansky. (Read more…)

Qatari royal battles Barclays in $78m Marbella fraud

There is rich, there is super-rich and then there is a level of wealth so great that a Barclays bank employee thinks he can siphon off $6.25m a month from your bank account and expect you not to notice.

Unfortunately for the fraudster, the victim, a senior member of the Qatari royal family did check his monthly statement - but not before $78m had disappeared. Embarrassingly for Barclays details of the crime have been lodged with a Spanish court - just as the bank turns to the Qatar Investment Authority (run by another member of Qatari royal family) to support a $7.9 billion cash call. (Read more...)

British MEP arrested over fraud claims

A British member of the European parliament has been arrested over allegations that he embezzled tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money by claiming it was for an assistant’s salary. (Read more...)

20

Former executives at Royal Group charged with fraud

TORONTO - The RCMP yesterday charged several former executives of Royal Group Technologies Ltd., including founder Vittorio De Zen, with fraud.

Six people were charged with defrauding the Woodbridge, Ont.-based industrial plastics maker out of $29 million in two transactions between late 1997 and 1998. (Read more...)

Lawyers ask for leniency for former Refco CEO

NEW YORK - Refco Inc.'s former chief executive is pleading with a judge not to impose the maximum 25-year sentence that prosecutors are seeking, saying the 59-year-old would effectively be behind bars for life. (Read more...)

FBI eyes big business in mortgage fraud probe

Federal investigators are homing in on 19 "large corporations" - including investment banks, credit rating agencies, accounting firms and hedge funds - as part of a broad probe into mortgage fraud. (Read more....)

Information in e-mails easily uncovered

Messages allegedly sent by two former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers indicted for fraud show even sophisticated professionals disregard the dangers of putting sensitive information in e-mails, ex-prosecutors said. (Read more...)

A Jury Awarded Investors Nearly $ 60 Million From Arthur Anderson

On Thursday, June 12th, 2008 an Oregon state jury awarded investors $51 million in the Multnomah County Circuit Court after ruling that accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP helped a state politician misappropriate millions of dollars from three venture capital funds. (Read more...)

Nortel former CEO Dunn and three other ex-execs charged with fraud

TORONTO — Four years after an accounting scandal battered Nortel Networks Corp. (TSX:NT), wiping out tens of billions of dollars of stock market value, police have laid fraud charges against former CEO Frank Dunn and two other former executives. (Read more...)

19

Government sues ex-Cendant chairman, seeking $22M

The U.S. government and the company formerly known as Cendant Corp. are suing the conglomerate's imprisoned former chairman, seeking at least $22 million in assets they say he tried to hide. (Read more...)

US banker pleads guilty in European tax fraud plot

A US manager working for a Swiss bank Thursday admitted conspiring to help US clients dodge millions of dollars in taxes by hiding assets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, officials said.

Bradley Birkenfeld pleaded guilty to conspiring with co-defendant Mario Staggl to hide some 200 million dollars, liable to 7.2 million in US taxes, through an elaborate system of fraud, the Department of Justice said. (Read more...)

Ex-Bear Stearns managers charged with fraud

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two former hedge fund managers at investment bank Bear Stearns defrauded investors by concealing problems that led to the $1.4 billion (710 million pound) collapse of funds linked to subprime lending, a federal indictment unsealed on Thursday charged. (Read more...)

More than 400 charged in U.S. mortgage fraud

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 400 people have been charged in a nationally coordinated probe of mortgage fraud that involved an estimated $1 billion (500 million pounds) in losses, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. (Read more...)

18

Norbourg six face 900 charges

MONTREAL -- Known internally as Projet Necton, a three-year police probe to untangle a sophisticated web of financial deceit resulted in 922 criminal charges against six people in connection with the massive fraud at defunct Montreal investment company Groupe Norbourg. (Read more...)

Man Gets Prison Time For $99.9M Health Fraud

A federal judge has sentenced a former health care executive to five years in prison for helping his Philippines-based company swindle $99.9 million from the U.S. military health insurance program. (Read more...)

U.S. SEC charges 2 former Sentinel execs in fraud case

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said it has filed fraud-related charges against two former executives of Sentinel Management Group Inc, the cash management firm serving the U.S. futures industry that filed for bankruptcy last year. (Read more...)

Police uncover massive ATM card fraud ring

Toronto police say they have uncovered a massive debit-card copying operation where information from victims' bank cards was copied and transferred onto usable, counterfeit debit cards. (Read more...)

Thyssenkrupp cleared in arms probe

German prosecutors have found no evidence linking the country's industrial giant ThyssenKrupp to corruption in South Africa's arms deal, the company said on Wednesday. (Read more...)

17

IRS Seizures Not Always Legal

The Internal Revenue Service violated some of its own legal requirements in some of the seizures of taxpayer property it conducted in the past two years, according to a new report. (Read more...)

Academy students claim $45M fraud

CLAWSON -- A postsecondary school has defrauded more than 2,000 students of more than $45 million and continues to lure new students with promises of associate degrees it is not certified to grant in Michigan, lawyers allege in documents filed in federal court in Detroit. (Read more...)

16

Medicare Fraud Tops $60 Billion Per Year

The Washington Post delves into the multi-billion dollar fraud problem afflicting Medicare.

The program's internal accounting safeguards are designed to detect unorthodox medical treatment and over billing. Out and out fraud? Not so much.

The Post's experts estimate that criminals bilk the system out of more than $60 billion per year. A lone Florida woman, a high school dropout, bilked the system out of $105 million, working from home on her laptop. (Read more...)

Suspects grilled over bank fraud

Dubai: Seven suspects are being questioned for their alleged involvement in the Dubai Islamic Bank's (DIB)Dubai Islamic Bank's (DIB) financial irregularities case. (Read more...)

14

Lengthy prison term in massive fraud scheme

An Ogden businessman has been sentenced to nine consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for taking part in a massive investment fraud scheme which involved more than $140 million from at least 800 investors. (Read more...)

Fraud allegations leave Harvest House staff reeling

Scott Caldwell went to Harvest House for rehabilitation about 12 years ago. He changed his life, got sober and took college courses.

He was a role model for others and even became Harvest House's bookkeeper about five years ago, said Nicole Plaschy, executive director of the Christian-based rehab program and residential centre in Gloucester.

Yesterday, Mr. Caldwell was charged by Ottawa police with theft- and fraud-related offences after the non-profit organization noticed inconsistencies during an audit within the last month. (Read more...)

13

Philip Morris claims it lost millions in coupon fraud

Saying it has lost "millions of dollars" to an elaborate nationwide coupon fraud scheme, Philip Morris USA Inc. is seeking to join a $450 million lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee targeting a coupon clearinghouse and its former executives. (Read more...)

Police arrest eight in alleged $454-million fraud in Hong Kong

HONG KONG — Eight people have been arrested in a $454-million fraud probe in Hong Kong.

Police announced the arrests Friday, a day after raiding 13 separate locations in the territory.

Police spokeswoman Josephine Cheng says five men and three women have been detained on suspicion of conspiring to defraud the shareholders of two companies and 18 banks. (Read more...)

12

Verizon Business Releases Data-Breach Study Spanning 500 Forensic Investigations

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Nearly nine in 10 corporate data breaches could have been prevented had reasonable security measures been in place, according to a comprehensive report issued today by Verizon Business. The study also provides key recommendations to help businesses protect themselves and urges them to be proactive. (Read more...)

Eight indicted in major mortgage fraud scheme

Greenbelt, Maryland - A federal grand jury has indicted eight individuals with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, in connection with a massive mortgage fraud scheme which promised to help  homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, but left them homeless and with no equity,  announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland  Rod J. Rosenstein.  The indictment was returned yesterday and unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendants. (Read more...)

Prosecutors seek stiff jail term for ex-Refco CEO

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Former Refco Inc Chief Executive Phillip Bennett deserves a long prison term when he is sentenced for fraud after presiding over "a conspiracy of historic proportions," U.S. prosecutors argued in court papers made public on Thursday. (Read more...)

Ex-CFO testifies she hid fraud at Livent

TORONTO -- Livent Inc.'s former chief financial officer said yesterday she did not tell old colleagues at Deloitte & Touche about an accounting fraud at Livent because she felt she could deal with it internally. (Read more...)

11

Fraudsters exploit multi-million pound crack in card fraud protection system

A system designed to help protect retailers and consumers from credit card fraud is now being used by fraudsters to steal goods from retailers, according to fraud protection specialists the 3rd Man. The potentially serious flaw in the system, which fraudsters are already exploiting and could result in millions of pounds of card crime, was spotted by one of the 3rd Man’s fraud analysts as she was monitoring daily card transactions on behalf of a retailer. (Read more...)

PCAOB-Registered Firms Required to Submit Annual Reports

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has adopted rules requiring public accounting firms to submit reports at least once a year on fees, disciplinary actions and other information that will be posted on the PCAOB Web site. (Read more...)

Manhunt is launched for trader in big fraud

New York State Police are investigating the possible suicide of Samuel Israel III, the former chief executive of defunct hedge-fund firm Bayou Management LLC who was supposed to begin serving a 20-year prison term on Monday, an investigator said Tuesday.

A vehicle belonging to Mr. Israel -- the architect of one of Wall Street's highest-profile scams of recent years -- was found abandoned near the towering Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River in New York state. The words "suicide is painless" were written in the dust on the hood.

But as of late yesterday, no body had been found. (Read more...)

Guilty Plea Given in Iraq Contract Fraud

WASHINGTON — A retired Army colonel who has been a focus of a wide-ranging criminal inquiry into contracting fraud in Iraq pleaded guilty on Tuesday to steering a military contract for warehouses in Iraq to a contractor for $4,000 and a vacation to Thailand. (Read more...)

10

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources. (Read more...)

Puyallup WA man charged with embezzling $2.5 million

SEATTLE -- A 24-year-old Puyallup man has been charged with embezzling more than $2.5 million from a Tacoma lumber company. (Read more...)

Cyber Fraud Booming In UK According To Government Report

The Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) has unveiled shocking news that the fraudsters are tricking the call center employees to extract bank account information.

Its recent report reveals that several illegal international groups are involved in hijacking of bank accounts by using email phishing and key logging malware. (Read more...)

Mother-daughter ring accused of massive student loan fraud scam

A mother-daughter bank fraud ring that is accused of obtaining $690,000 in student loans using bogus applications -- and applying for millions more -- has been uncovered by agents with the U.S. Attorney's Working Group on ID Theft. (Read more...)

Trial date set for lawyer in Refco fraud case

NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday set a trial date for next spring in a case against a lawyer accused of participating in a scheme to hide the financial condition of now-collapsed commodities and futures broker Refco Inc. (Read more...)

NJ man accused of $80M mortgage fraud

NEWARK, N.J. - The man who founded NJ Affordable Homes Corp. has been arrested and accused of cheating investors and mortgage lenders out of about $80 million. (Read more...)

Sisters indicted in conspiracy to defraud local business

DALLAS — A federal grand jury in Dallas has returned an indictment charging Janie Heggins of Desoto, Texas and her sister, Paulette Heggins-Carter of Grand Prairie, Texas, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and six counts of mail fraud in relation to a scheme to defraud Janie Heggins’ former employer, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.  In a separate indictment, Heggins’ former colleague, defendant Celina Sanders of Forth Worth, is also charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and four counts of mail fraud in relation to a scheme to defraud her former employer.  All three have made their initial appearances. (Read more...)

Senior SFO prosecutors quit as new director changes priorities

Five of the most experienced prosecutors of complex cases in Britain are leaving the Serious Fraud Office following the departure seven weeks ago of director Robert Wardle and growing concerns about his successor's appetite for large, costly investigations. (Read more...)

NZ should keep its serious fraud office

New Zealand should not abolish its Serious Fraud Office, according to international corruption expert Indira Carr, Professor of Law at the University of Surrey. (Read more...)

Charges in $4.6M fraud at racetrack

PONTIAC -- A former bookkeeper was arraigned Monday on charges that she embezzled more than $4.6 million from the owners of the Hazel Park Raceway with work orders for services that were never done at several Metro Detroit apartments. (Read more...)

09

Four mortgage brokers are banned

A crackdown by the financial regulator on mortgage fraud has led to four more brokers being banned from operating. (Read more...)

Six year 100,000-page fraud case is short but not sweet

Mining firm's former CEO charged with $1.9M fraud

A former mining executive has been accused of stealing more than $1.9 million from a Calgary-based company before moving to India.

Police allege that Nikhanj defrauded Leader Mining International Inc. of $1,940,145.24 between July 30, 2002, and April 30, 2004. At that time, he was the firm's president and CEO. (Read more...)

3 indicted on mail fraud charges in connection with Dallas firm

A federal grand jury has indicted two sisters on several counts of mail fraud in connection with a Dallas-based company, according to U.S. Attorney Richard Roper.

Janie Heggins, 55, of DeSoto and Paulette Heggins-Carter, 38, of Grand Prairie are accused of defrauding ART Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries of $469,000 through changing invoices, creating false checks and using a government-issued credit card. (Read more...)

Court sets limits in government fraud suits

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a whistleblower law intended to expose fraud can be applied to subcontractors and other indirect recipients of federal funds. (Read more...)

26 more Portuguese football referees suspended

Portuguese champions FC Porto have been barred from competing in next season's Champions League over a match-fixing scandal, European football's governing body UEFA said on Wednesday. (Read more...)

Accountants Become Investigators to Fight Fraud

The New York State Society of CPAs held a conference to discuss ways that accountants can battle fraud at the companies they audit. (Read more...)

Livent finance head told to keep quiet about fraud, court told

The former chief financial officer of Livent Inc. said she was told to keep quiet after discovering the alleged accounting fraud at the theatre company in July 1997. (Read more...)

07

Showdown looms for landbanking

Britain's financial services watchdog is looking to shut down UK Land Investments (UKLI), the country's largest "landbanking" company, which has been the subject of Guardian Money warnings.

This will leave 4,500 investors with slices of virtually worthless farmland. It now appears that many might have avoided losses if the Financial Services Authority had listened to fraud squad requests to shut it down in 2005. (Read more...)

Taxman has Opes Prime in his sights

THE Australian Taxation Office has turned its sights on Opes Prime, with second commissioner Jennie Granger heading a taskforce looking into the affairs of the collapsed stockbroker as part of a wider industry crackdown.

Opes's receivers, accounting firm Deloitte, is also believed to be preparing legal proceedings against former director Anthony Blumberg for the recovery of money as early as next week. (Read more...)

Attorney testifies in Fen-Phen fraud trial

COVINGTON, Ky. --One of three lawyers accused of taking tens of millions more than they were owed as part of a $200 million diet-drug settlement testified that he never told a judge that the trio had contingency contracts with their clients before the judge approved attorney fees. (Read more...)

Man accused of $3M fraud

PITTSFIELD — A Pittsfield man who received about $3 million in federal and city grants to launch an electric vehicle battery business that never fully materialized has been indicted in Boston on federal bank fraud and money-laundering charges. (Read more...)

GST fraud earns 4 years

The former director of the Nelson Symphony Orchestra, who ripped taxpayers off to the tune of $850,000 through fraudulent GST refunds, was jailed for four years yesterday. (Read more...)

06

Man pleads guilty in $8M fraud

A group of fleeced investors turned up at Toronto court to share the havoc and ruin a con man brought into their lives.

"This has truly been devastating and has affected my family relationships," said Karen Garscadden, reading a victim impact statement in Old City Hall court yesterday prior to sentencing for Adam Spencer, who defrauded more than 80 people for a reported $8 million. (Read more...)

Former Broadcom CEO Indicted On Fraud And Drug Charges

Henry Nicholas, the former CEO of Broadcom, is accused of trafficking a variety of illegal drugs, some of which he is alleged to have used to spike the drinks of associates and employees. (Read more...)

NY AG says time for ex-AIG CEO to answer questions

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has tried to block a request by the former head of American International Group Inc to delay a deposition on three-year-old allegations of financial misconduct.

Former AIG CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg should be deposed "soon as possible," Cuomo said in a memorandum filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. (Read more...)

05

Fort Worth appraiser awaits sentencing on mortgage fraud

A Fort Worth real estate appraiser was one of two men who pleaded guilty this week of federal charges involving an alleged two-year mortgage fraud scheme that engulfed more than 200 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. (Read more...)

Rich List businessman Virendra Rastogi jailed for £350m fraud

A chief executive who appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List was jailed for a £350 million fraud uncovered after one of his employees hit the wrong button on a fax machine. (Read more...)

UK special operation uncovers R600m

Two South African men, one of whom is the director of a top language college in London, have been arrested on suspicion of money laundering in the UK after nearly R600-million was uncovered in the vaults of their safety-deposit-box company. (Read more...)

AICPA Adopts Ethics Standard on Indemnification

The American Institute of CPAs has issued a new standard that tightens ethics requirements for members on indemnification and limitation of liability.

Under the new standard, failure to comply with a regulator's requirements on the use of indemnification and limitation-of-liability provisions will be considered an act discreditable to the profession. Various regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, state insurance commissions and federal banking agencies, currently prohibit organizations under their jurisdiction from entering into certain types of indemnification and limitation-of-liability provisions in agreements for the performance of audit or other attest services, according to the AICPA. (Read more...)

Woman who defrauded Fonterra of $1.3m jailed

A woman has been jailed for 4-1/2 years for a million dollar fraud against her employer Fonterra.

Nikita Singh, a former accounts payable clerk, had pleaded guilty in Manukau District Court to seven fraud charges.

The Serious Fraud Office said she had accessed a computer and using forged documents took $1,348,866 from dairy giant Fonterra. (Read more...)

04

Former Israeli finance minister indicted

Jerusalem - Israeli prosecutors indicted former finance minister Avraham Hirchson on Wednesday on charges of theft, fraud and breach of trust, the latest in a string of corruption probes against top officials. (Read more...)

Walgreens to pay $35 million to settle Medicaid prescription drug fraud allegations

WASHINGTON – Walgreen Co. of Deerfield, Ill., has agreed to pay $35 million to settle claims that from 2001 to 2005, it improperly switched patients to different versions of the prescriptions drugs Ranitidine, Fluoxetine and Eldepryl in order to increase its reimbursement from Medicaid, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more...)

Fundraiser Convicted Of Fraud And Corruption

In Chicago, political fundraiser "Tony'' Rezko has been found guilty of sixteen counts of fraud and corruption.

The 52-year-old Rezko was charged with scheming to get kickbacks from companies wanting state contracts. (Read more...)

Brocade to Pay $160M in Backdating Settlement

Brocade Communications Systems has reached an agreement to pay $160 million to settle a class-action lawsuit involving stock options backdating.

The suit relates to Brocade's restatement of financial results in 2005 after disclosures of backdating emerged. The company widened its 2004 loss to $32 million from $2 million because of the misreporting of stock-based compensation, and later added another $71 million in expenses because of improper accounting for stock options. The suit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the technology company and some of its former directors and officers. (Read more...)

Accountant Independence Requirements Beefed Up

An international accounting standard-setter has issued a revised set of proposals designed to strengthen the independence requirements for accountants.

The International Ethics Standards Board, an independent standard-setting board within the International Federation of Accountants, has issued a "re-exposure draft" of several proposals it had issued earlier. The latest set enhances two areas of the independence requirements in the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. (Read more...)

03

Cops check cash withdrawals in PM case

Israeli Police investigators from the National Fraud Unit who are in the US to investigate the Talansky case are seeking to gather "empirical evidence" of cash withdrawals and transfers of funds made on behalf of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a senior former law enforcement official said. (Read more...)

Liquidator's testify in £150m fraud case trial

The jury in the Imperial Consolidated trial has been hearing evidence from liquidators called in over the collapse of the group.

Staff from Nottingham-based firm Mazars have been giving their testimony in the trial of three former Imperial directors.

Mazars was appointed to examine Imperial's accounts following the collapse in June 2002 when Imperial had a financial shortfall of £150m. (Read more...)

Appraiser Admits He Took Part in $25 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Real estate appraiser Lanny Ross, 66, Leawood, Kan., pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy in a $25 million mortgage fraud scheme. (Read more...)

Man gets 3 years for $5.3M tax fraud

A Grimsby man who pleaded guilty in a $5.2-million tax fraud case has been sentenced to three years in jail. (Read more...)

Milestones in the Hyundai chairman fraud case

SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's High Court on Tuesday upheld an earlier three-year suspended jail sentence on Hyundai Motor Group chief Chung Mong-koo for fraud, keeping him out of jail despite pressure to crack down hard on corruption at the country's top firms. (Read more...)

NY AG reaches pension fraud settlement with law firms

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says the state will receive $235,000 in a settlement with three law firms and lawyers accused of inappropriately accruing pension benefits from schools. (Read more...)

Implanting Fraud? Ex-CFO Settles SEC Charges

A former CFO of Swiss health-care products company Centerpulse settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges related to his alleged involvement in the fraudulent inflation of Centerpulse's income during the third and fourth quarters of 2002. (Read more...)

Upaid widens US fraud case against Satyam

British Virgin Island-based firm Upaid today used court admissions by senior Satyam executives to broaden its US fraud case to include claims that the Indian IT services provider failed to provide good title to intellectual property developed for Upaid in the late 90s, intentionally misleading Upaid in the process. Upaid Sytems believes the damages could exceed $1 billion (around Rs 4,200 crore). (Read more...)

Ex-CEO of Portland firm gets two years' probation in fraud

A former chief executive of one of Portland's oldest technology companies was sentenced Monday to two years of probation, six months of home confinement and 500 hours of community service for misleading an accountant.

James Dooley, former CEO of Electro Scientific Industries Inc., was indicted in September 2004 along with ESI's former controller, James Lorenz, on 17 counts, including falsifying the Portland company's books, committing securities fraud and lying to auditors and securities regulators. (Read more...)

Fraud losses of £15m pulled B&B into the red

Bradford & Bingley would have remained profitable in the first four months of the year, despite its rising levels of bad debt and additional writedowns on structured finance investments, had it not been for a £15m provision relating to mortgage fraud losses, the detail of its trading update revealed yesterday. (Read more...)

Anti-fraud measures in NZ poor

A survey shows New Zealand companies are in danger of becoming a target for fraud.

A Grant Thornton International Business Report survey shows less than a third of privately owned businesses have people employed to detect fraud. It says processes should be in place to ensure potentially fraudulent activity is caught in the early stages. (Read more...)

Settlement calls for IBM to pay $20 million to settle shareholder suit over options expensing

ARMONK, New York - IBM Corp. has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit by shareholders who claimed the technology company misled the public about employee stock-option expenses in 2005. (Read more...)

Financial Restatements Begin to Decline

The number of financial restatements finally began to decline last year after a decade-long increase and will probably continue to fall as the Securities and Exchange Commission makes it easier for companies to avoid restatements that aren't likely to greatly affect investors. (Read more...)

02

Jail term for £2.7m VAT fraudster

A Suffolk businessman was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to claiming £2.7m in false tax repayments. (Read more...)

Hiring of CFO proof Drabinsky didn't know of Livent fraud, lawyer says

TORONTO — It would have been “insane” for Garth Drabinsky to hire a former Livent Inc. external auditor as the company's new chief financial officer in 1996 if he had known about a major accounting fraud at the company, lawyer Edward Greenspan said Monday. (Read more...)

Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP Recovers $160 Million in Brocade Securities Fraud Class Action

DAINGERFIELD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nix, Patterson & Roach LLP (NPR), one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs law firms, announced today that it has reached a $160 million settlement on behalf of the class and its client, the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), in the Brocade Securities Litigation, a securities fraud class action regarding the backdating of stock options. This settlement is the largest to date in an options backdating class action. It is also believed to be one of the largest settlements in a securities fraud case in terms of the ratio of settlement amount to actual investor damages. (Read more...)

AICPA publicizes new peer review standards

The American Institute of CPAs has begun publicizing the revised set of peer review standards that it quietly issued earlier this year.

The new standards are designed to be more principles-based and less of a checklist-based process than older peer review standards. A key difference is the elimination of letters of comment and the old three-tier system of unmodified, modified and adverse grades given to firms by reviewers. The new standards require a simple grade of “pass,” “pass with deficiencies” or “fail.” (Read more...)

Brother Pleads Guilty in DC Tax Scandal

The brother of the former manager of the Washington, D.C., tax office has pleaded guilty in a wide-ranging tax scandal.

Managers and employees of the office and their relatives have been accused of filing false claims for property tax refunds, going back over two decades. Up to $50 million may have been stolen in the scheme and only a small portion has been recovered, according to the Washington Post. (Read more...)

Commodity Futures Trading Commission takes aim at oil price manipulation

It sounds like a made-for-TV movie about shady business dealings in Texas. In fact, it was a genuine conversation recorded at BP's offices in Houston in 2003 between two traders discussing the outlook for the US propane market and it is helping to shape the rules that govern global energy futures markets. (Read more...)

Severn Trent fraud fine may hit £70m

Severn Trent could be forced to pay up to £70m today following a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over allegations that the water company provided false data on leaks to Ofwat, the industry regulator. (Read more...)

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Cartoon fraud

A California man was arraigned this week in federal court in Sacramento on multiple counts of computer fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud for allegedly opening 58,000 fake brokerage accounts.

Michael Largent, 22, of Plumas Lake, Calif., was charged with using false Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, and names - even the names of cartoon and comic book characters - to open the accounts. (Read more...)