“It comes down to leadership,” explains Al Gini, chairman of the management department, Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University, Chicago. What have we learned? “Not a lot,” says Ratley. “With a case this big, they were bound to get caught, but in many more run-of-the-mill fraud cases, it’s still swept under the rug.”

Ratley says that, in a less severe case of fraud, when an internal auditor finds red flags the offending numbers are generally just changed or written off. The CFO was fired, the controller resigned and the company filed for bankruptcy. He was sentenced to 25 years for fraud, conspiracy and filing false documents. CEO Bernie Ebbers was identified as the main perpetrator, underreporting line costs by capitalizing rather than expensing, and inflating revenues with fake accounting entries. The company’s internal audit department uncovered $3.8 billion in fraud. The telecommunications company now known as MCI inflated assets by as much as $11 billion, leading to 30,000 lost jobs and $180 billion in losses for investors. Are there lessons to be learned? We certainly hope so. Many are familiar names, committed to the annals of history for their ill-gotten gains.

Approximately 87 percent have never been charged or convicted of a fraud-related offense, and 84 percent have never been punished or terminated by an employer for fraud-related conduct.įrom the mass of fraud cases that have erupted onto front pages this century, we have chosen our top 10. So says Jim Ratley, president and CEO of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).Īccording to the ACFE’s 2012 Report to the Nation, most occupational fraudsters are first-time offenders with clean employment histories. The theory is there are no small frauds-only frauds that haven’t yet reached their full potential. By Kristine Blenkhorn Rodriguez | Summer 2013 The 21st Century's Top 10 Frauds These individuals perfected the art of “now you see it, now you don’t.” Here, we detail lessons learned the hard way. Center for Corporate Financial Leadership.Legislative and Regulatory Updates and Bulletins.Peer Review Report Acceptance Committee.Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program Committee, Advisory Council, Chapter & Member Forum.

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