news september 2008 international

International Fraud News September 2008

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£150m fraud trial ends with no verdict

Two former Lincolnshire directors accused of a multi-million pound fraud conspiracy could be facing a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

The £3 million trial of Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, formerly of the Imperial Consolidated group, has collapsed. (Read more...)

Former top CIA official admits fraud

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Kyle Dustin Foggo, a former top CIA official, pleaded guilty Monday of defrauding the U.S. government for using his influence to steer contracts to his long-time friend.

Foggo, 53, the third-highest position in the CIA between 2004 and 2006, entered his plea in a Virginia federal courtroom, related to his dealings with defense contractor and good friend Brent Wilkes. (Read more...)

Fraud Trial Starts With Tales of Schemes

Alberto W. Vilar, the opera lover and disgraced patron of the arts, took center stage in a federal courtroom on Monday, when his trial for securities fraud opened with a prosecutor describing him as a lying fraudster who finagled money out of clients. (Read more...)

Sunday Mercury exposes superstar-style luxury lifestyle of fraudsters

THE superstar-style luxury lifestyles enjoyed by a gang of Midland fraudsters behind a £138 million VAT scam can be revealed by the Sunday Mercury today.

Ringleader Craig Johnson, 35, raced flash cars, rode in private helicopters, lived in plush mansions and relaxed in dream holiday homes after ripping off taxpayers with a lucrative mobile phone con. (Read more...)

£6 Million Money Launderer jailed in £68 Million Fraud

A Staffordshire man who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to laundering £6.3 million from the proceeds of crime has been given a two year jail sentence at Birmingham Crown Court. Craig Johnson was the seventh member of a criminal gang to be jailed in connection with a £68 million VAT fraud. (Read more...)

Petters tied to multi-billion dollar fraud scheme

Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters, thrust into the spotlight earlier this week when his business and home were swarmed by federal agents, is the central figure in what authorities suspect is a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme that lured investors with empty promises, according to documents unsealed Friday in federal court. (Read more...)

Panel Suggests Ways Auditing Firms Can Stem Fraud

A Treasury Department panel issued final recommendations on Friday meant to encourage auditing firms to catch corporate fraud before it happens — and to protect them from going under when it does. (Read more...)

Hacker charged in $1.8 M Calgary fraud granted bail

The alleged mastermind of a $1.8 million Internet theft from a Calgary financial company, once convicted of hacking into the U.S. military headquarter's computer system at the Pentagon, was granted bail in a Calgary court Thursday. (Read more...)

Pretrial Fraud Judgment Granted Against Lauer Of Greenwich

A federal court judge on Wednesday granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's request for a pretrial judgment against Michael Lauer, the Greenwich man accused of directing a billion-dollar hedge fund fraud, the SEC announced. (Read more...)

Executive sentenced in Serono fraud case

The president of a medical device company was sentenced Wednesday to three years probation and fined $10,000 for plotting with Swiss-based Serono Laboratories to increase sales of an AIDS drug by manipulating a test for AIDS patients. (Read more...)

Cooper University Hospital settles Medicare fraud case

Cooper University Hospital agreed Wednesday to pay the United States $3.85 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that it defrauded the federal government’s Medicare program. (Read more...)

FBI investigates Fannie Mae and Lehman Brothers

The FBI is trying to pin down whether executives at four American financial institutions, believed to have triggered the $700 billion proposed bailout of Wall Street, lied to shareholders, it emerged yesterday. (Read more...)

Mirabilis chief Amodeo pleads guilty in $181M tax fraud scheme

Frank Amodeo, the former leader of Mirabilis Ventures Inc., pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from what prosecutors called a $181 million payroll tax fraud that could’ve landed Amodeo in prison for the rest of his life. (Read more...)

Sunshine Coast man jailed over excise-duty fraud

A Sunshine Coast man is one of two Queenslanders to be jailed for four years after failing to pay a $13.8 million fine for customs and excise-duty frauds. (Read more...)

Dubai Police, Emcredit Enter Pact to Detect Financial Fraud

The Dubai Police and Emcredit, the UAE’s first private credit information company, on Monday signed a data-sharing agreement to provide solutions to banks and other institutions to prevent and detect financial fraud. (Read more...)

Shoe Manufacturer Detained in $120M Fraud Probe

Vadim Stepanov, head of leading Russian shoe manufacturer Tervolina, has been detained on suspicion of defrauding the government out of more than 3 billion rubles ($120 million) worth of land along the elite Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse, the Interior Ministry said Monday. (Read more...)

$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says

A former Iraqi official estimated yesterday that more than $13 billion meant for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through elaborate fraud schemes. (Read more...)

Detective Richard de Cadenet jailed for fraud using Scotland Yard card

A leading antiterrorist police officer has been jailed for ten months after admitting using his Scotland Yard credit card to take his wife and mistress on luxury holidays. (Read more...)

Subex launches fraud management solution, Nikira V7.0

Subex Ltd today announced the launch of Nikira V7.0, the next version of its industry leading fraud management solution. The new version provides operators with next generation fraud management capabilities for proactive fraud management through early detection of internal and external fraud. (Read more...)

Radwanski not aware he was violating policy, court told

OTTAWA - Former privacy commissioner George Radwanski took long and expensive working lunches with members of his staff because they were necessary to his working style and he never dreamed they were in contravention of the government's hospitality policy, court heard Monday. (Read more...)

Criminal Prosecution To Be Launched Over MTDC “Corporate Fraud”

A criminal prosecution is about to be launched for corporate fraud over illicit share trading in public tourism firm the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), attorney general Azima Shukoor told Minivan News on Sunday. (Read more...)

Clark says SFO did not seek Crown Law advice over privileges

Prime Minister Helen Clark said Serious Fraud Office director Grant Liddell did not seek Crown Law advice before giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry. (Read more...)

Southern California Edison Fined $146 Million Dollars For Fraud

The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously decided to hand Southern California Edison a $146 million fine. (Read more...)

18 arrested for alleged $33-million SoCal fraud

Eighteen people in the Los Angeles area are accused of filing more than $33 million worth of phony Medicare bills.

Federal authorities say they arrested the suspects Thursday after the FBI searched six locations, including a clinic in South Los Angeles. Those arrested include clinic owners, medical professionals and owners of medical equipment companies. (Read more...)

Miami Physician's Assistant Pleads Guilty to Role in $119 Million HIV Infusion Fraud Scheme

Miami physician's assistant Thomas McKenzie pleaded guilty today to defrauding the Medicare program in connection with a $119 million HIV infusion fraud scheme. (Read more...)

'Robin Hood' banker behind bars

London - Robin Hood may be a figure from English folklore, but police said on Wednesday they had uncovered a modern-day variant: a banker who took from the rich and lent to the poor.

Benedict Hancock, a 39-year-old manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland, used millions from wealthy clients to make unauthorised loans to needier customers, police said. Hancock was arrested last year but the case only came to light on Wednesday, in a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. (Read more...)

Corporate fraud on the rise

The average company’s loss caused by fraud has increased by 22 percent, according to a report by Kroll.

Companies lost an average of $8.2 million to fraud in the past three years, according to a survey of 890 senior executives worldwide, a third of which are based in North and South America. (Read more...)

Hilfiger Unit Ex-CFO Pleads Guilty to $19m Fraud

The former finance chief of a Tommy Hilfiger Group licensee pleaded guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud for allegedly stealing more than $19 million, according to Michael Garcia, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (Read more...)

Manager of Tax Office Admits $48 million Check Fraud

A former manager in the District of Columbia tax office admitted to cutting more than 200 fraudulent property tax refund checks in a scheme that drained more than $48 million from the city’s treasury over almost two decades. (Read more...)

NYC hospital settles Medicaid fraud case

NEW YORK - Staten Island University Hospital has agreed to return $24.8 million to Medicaid to resolve allegations that it defrauded the state and federal governments. (Read more...)

Fraud trial of ex-minister opens in Dubai

DUBAI (AFP) — A former minister who was dismissed denied fraud charges on Monday as he went on trial, in a rare case involving an ex-government member in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. (Read more...)

King brothers to be sentenced seperately over NAB fraud

Former Port Macquarie bus tycoons Tony and Peter King will face seperate sentencing hearings for defrauding the National Australia Bank of millions dollars. (Read more...)

Lehman CEO Fuld's hubris contributed to meltdown

Reuters) - Not long ago, when Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld talked about "everyone's worst nightmare" he was referring to a massive fraud at French bank Societe Generale.

Just a few months later Fuld, a 30-year-veteran of Lehman who had ably steered it through near-death experiences like the Asian debt crisis of 1998, is living his own worst nightmare as the venerable investment bank stands on the verge of collapse. (Read more...)

US terms set to review Fannie, Freddie exit pay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators have decided how multi-million dollar severance packages for the departing chief executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be limited.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which has taken over the two government-sponsored enterprises, said it could weigh a variety of factors, including whether the executives had committed fraud or insider abuse, according to a notice posted to the agency's website on Friday. (Read more...)

£250m VAT fraudster is jailed for 10 years

A WEALTHY businessman was behind bars today after being jailed for 10 years over a £250m VAT fraud. (Read more...)

SEC Foresees Rise in Fraud Cases

Laying out his priorities, the new enforcement chief for the Securities and Exchange Commission in San Francisco said Thursday he expects an upswing in fraud cases against public companies. (Read more...)

Brooklyn executive guilty in $44M mortgage fraud

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - A former owner of a defunct mortgage firm has pleaded guilty in New York City to a charge he and a colleague stole $44 million from the Fannie Mae mortgage finance company. (Read more...)

Massive ATM fraud triggers Gulf banking jitters

Banks across the United Arab Emirates are fighting to restore confidence in its banking system after hackers used counterfeit cards to withdraw funds from cash machines. (Read more...)

O.C. salesman James Halstead indicted on fraud, money laundering charges

A Santa Ana insurance salesman accused of bilking investors out of tens of millions of dollars and spending it on exotic sports cars and Las Vegas real estate was indicted Wednesday on federal wire fraud, mail fraud and money-laundering charges. (Read more...)

Assemblyman Charged in Fraud Scheme

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced on Wednesday that Anthony Seminerio, a Democratic assemblyman from Queens, had been charged in a fraud scheme in which they said he took more than $500,000 in payments from entities doing business with the state. (Read more...)

Clinic administrator pleads guilty in $14M fraud scheme

Miami HIV clinic administrator Dilcia Marinez, 57, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Miami federal court to her role in a $14 million HIV infusion fraud scheme. (Read more...)

Abbott to pay $28 million to settle fraud suit with Texas

Attorney General Greg Abbott said Tuesday that Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay a total of $28 million to settle Medicaid-fraud allegations the state filed against the North Chicago drug and medical-products maker four years ago. (Read more...)

Enron payout plan approved

Enron shareholders could start pocketing their part of $7.2 billion in settlements of massive federal civil litigation by year-end now that a judge has approved the distribution plan. (Read more...)

Charges likely on RailCorp fraud

A FORMER RailCorp employee who was able to go overseas on numerous scuba-diving holidays thanks to his underhand takings is expected to face criminal charges after an extensive investigation by the corruption watchdog. (Read more...)

UAE banks hit by wave of card fraud

UAE banks have been hit by a wave of ATM card fraud, with criminal gangs using counterfeit cards to access local accounts from abroad, HSBC said on Tuesday. (Read more...)

United Rentals Settles Sale-Leaseback Fraud Charges with SEC

United Rentals, a large equipment-rental company, has reached an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $14 million to settle civil financial fraud charges stemming from the improper use of sale-leaseback transactions and a broad range of other improper accounting practices. (Read more...)

Once-powerful Pa. senator faces long fraud trial

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A longtime power broker in Pennsylvania politics earned nearly $100,000 a year as a state senator, up to $1 million a year as a rainmaking lawyer and millions more from the sale of a family bank.

However, prosecutors say freewheeling Philadelphia Democrat Vincent Fumo used little of his own money as he took yachting vacations with friends, spent lavishly on a 33-room city brownstone and hired operatives to spy on ex-wives and political foes. (Read more...)

Greenberg Isn't Negotiating $100 Million Deal in Fraud Lawsuit

Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg, American International Group Inc.'s former Chief Executive Officer, isn't negotiating a settlement that includes a $100 million fine to resolve a civil accounting-fraud lawsuit, his spokesman said. (Read more...)

Jury Selection Set to Begin in KPMG Accounting Fraud Trial

Jury selection will begin on Monday, Sept. 8, in an accounting fraud lawsuit involving Big Four auditing firm KPMG and Cast Art Industries. (Read more...)

Three Accountants Sentenced to Prison in $20 Million Offshore Tax Fraud Conspiracy

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Stephen F. Petersen of Coalville, Utah; accountant Brent Metcalf of Cottonwood, Utah; and CPA Reed H. Barker of Littleton, Colo., have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a tax fraud conspiracy, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. (Read more...)

Phillip Bennett starts 16-year jail sentence for Refco fraud

Phillip Bennett, the British former chief executive of Refco, reported to a New Jersey prison yesterday to begin a 16-year sentence for fraud after pleading guilty to criminal charges over a scheme to hide the commodity broker’s financial problems. (Read more...)

Marino Bro. Pleads Guilty in HF Fraud

Matthew Marino, brother of Bayou figure Daniel Marino, has pled guilty to helping cover up one of the largest hedge fund frauds in recent memory. (Read more...)

Ex-Lobbyist Abramoff Finally Sentenced

WASHINGTON - Former lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff was sentenced Thursday to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $23.1 milion in restitution to victims based on his guilty plea to conspiracy, honest services fraud and tax evasion charges. (Read more...)

CA Founder Wang `Personally Directed' Fraud, Ex-Chief Says

CA Inc. founder Charles Wang ``personally directed and implemented'' a $2.2 billion accounting fraud, said former Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Kumar, who is serving a 12-year prison term for the scheme. (Read more...)

Two charged with fraud in auction-rate case

NEW YORK -- Two former Wall Street brokers fraudulently sold more than $1 billion of mortgage-backed securities in recent years by hiding their subprime connection, federal authorities said Wednesday. (Read more...)

Three more guilty in Pittsburgh fraud case

Three more Alle-Kiski Valley people are pleading guilty in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving 16 people to defraud Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. (Read more....)

More raids in deepening fraud probe into pension trustees

A sixth property has been raided as part of a ground-breaking investigation into Nottingham-based pension trustees GP Noble, the Serious Fraud Office has confirmed. (Read more...)

NZ First admit to mistake

The New Zealand First Party has admitted they made a mistake by not declaring a donation they received from Sir Robert Jones. (Read more..)

Health-care fraud's $9.3B price tag

Health-care fraud may be one of the biggest factors driving up health-care costs, to the tune of billions of dollars, new research indicates. (Read more...)

Fraud focus on deals to boost home sales

Property developers offering cash and other perks in an attempt to attract homebuyers will have to give mortgage lenders full details of their “give-away” deals as part of an antifraud initiative launched yesterday. (Read more...)

SFO role even more vital now

There are good reasons to retain the Serious Fraud Office. One of the most obvious was mentioned last week by the Finance Minister, Michael Cullen, when he noted New Zealand was facing the most complex and challenging economic forces for 20 years. (Read more...)

Whistle-blowers help US recoup $9.3 billion

WASHINGTON (AP) — Whistle-blowers helped authorities recover at least $9.3 billion from health care providers accused of defrauding states and the federal government, according to an analysis of Justice Department records. (Read more...)