Fraud Never Takes a Holiday in Indiana

These latest headlines should remind companies about the risk of Fraud and the importance of implementing and verifying adequate segregation of duties.  In these stories, embezzlers use their position, their employer’s misplaced trust, and inadequate fraud risk management to defraud organizations. July 29, 2016 Indianapolis woman to be sentenced in $5M embezzlement schemeAugust 16, 2016 Former utility CEO charged with embezzling $500K August 29, 2016 Former local United Steelworkers president sentenced for embezzlementSeptember 13, 2016 “It was done in little bits, little pieces:” Woman accused of embezzlementIn each of these cases, the fraud could have been prevented had the companies implemented a system of internal controls, including adequate segregation of duties.  Segregation of duties is a key internal control intended to minimize the occurrence of errors or fraud by ensuring that no employee has the ability to both commit and conceal errors of fraud in the normal course of their duties.

Stolen Identity Refund Fraud and LexisNexis TRIS Analytics

Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) is a relatively new phenomenon in Indiana and across the US — an unfortunate fallout from the intended convenience of electronic tax filing with quick electronic refunds.  As Forensic Accountants and Data Mining Specialist headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, we are considered experts in this niche field.  We also fully understand the difficulty of investigating these matters and identifying those who are committing the crime.  In this article, we will explain what SIRF is and a new ingenious tool states are using to combat this financial crime.

Data Mining for Fraud

Data mining may be the most valuable tool for organizations who may suspect fraud, waste, or abuse.  Data mining is my go-to analysis tool because I feel like it provides the most efficient “bang for the buck.”  Here are a few of my favorite reasons to use data mining. You aren’t limited by system interfaces. How many organizations have you been in where the employees rave about how great their system is, and that it has every report and capability they could ever want in the exact format they want it in?  Probably none.  Systems are necessary and serve a great purpose to standardize data and make it usable to clerks, technicians, and the like.  However, their interface screens are limited in what you can accomplish and ways you can look at the information.  Data mining can cut all of that out.  All systems are built on top of data … Continued

Tax Refund Fraud and Identity Theft

As a private investigator and forensic accountant in the heartland of Indianapolis, Indiana it seems every day I hear about the “average Joe” getting their identity stolen; perhaps through a hacker who infiltrated a company’s server like JP Morgan Chase, Home Depot, Target, etc., through stolen credit card information from an e-commerce or online purchase, or through a “social engineering specialist” fraudster who steals personal information by cold calling you on the phone and using their powers of persuasion to collect your personally identifiable information (PII).   Wikipedia defines PII as “information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context.”   NIST defines PII as “any information about an individual maintained by an agency, including

Business or Investment Background Checks

We regularly receive phone calls from clients interested in gathering due diligence on investment companies and/or the people who work for these establishments.  These clients understand that a business or investment background check is an invaluable precautions to identify risks to their potential investments. 

Pre-Employment Background Checks

Employee theft is on the rise.  In its study on 2012 retail theft, Jack L Hayes International found over 71,000 employees of 23 large retail chains were caught committing fraud by stealing from their employers, a 5.5% upswing from 2011.  An additional 1.1 million shoplifters from those same chains were detained, an increase of 7.4% from 2011.  The magnitude of loss from internal fraud and theft is staggering, and these are only the ones who were caught!  

Company Due Diligence and Background Checks

We recently took on an Indianapolis, Indiana client, “Susan,” that had an unforgettable experience with a repair contractor after a hailstorm damaged her home.  This blog will tell her story, and explain how Company Due Diligence and Background Checks can save you cash and spare you angst.

Computer Forensics

Computer Forensics Defined Computer Forensics, technically Computer Forensic Data Recovery (CFDR), is the science of recovering data from an electronic or digital source that may have been deleted or otherwise damaged or hidden.