 Someone You Trust May Commit Fraud in Your Business. More than 85% of people who commit fraud have never been previously charged or convicted for a fraud-related offense (ACFE, 2012 Report to the Nations), so you may hire someone without ever knowing they are someone you trust but may commit fraud. An employee who would never have considered fraud in the past may consider it the best way out of a bad personal situation, and you may be their first victim. You would know if one of your employees was cheating you, right? Even if you don’t have a personal relationship with all of them, you know them well enough to know if they were stealing from you, right? Sure. Right. Unless you’re wrong. Businesses like yours have lost more than 5% of their annual revenue to fraud each year. You may hire someone without ever knowing they have committed fraud. An employee who would never have considered fraud in the past may consider it the best way out of a bad personal situation, and you may be their first victim. As difficult as it is to suspect your own employees, trusted employees are in a better position to commit fraud than any outsider. Your employees know the ins and outs of your business, which may include knowledge of security gaps and vulnerabilities. No business is too small for fraud. The experts at UCMJ Investigations can help you find, detect and prevent fraud in your business. Case Study 1: When a local business owner discovered that his long-term office manager had embezzled $140,000 from him, we got the call. Our mission: find out if she had any recoverable assets and any other information that might be of value to the client. We found that she had a local bank account with only a moderate balance ($7,000), but we continued searching and found that she also had multiple bank accounts in another bank. Local police investigators were notified of these other bank accounts, but declined to take any steps to seize the bank accounts and protect the ‘fruits of the crime’. UCMJ Investigations took the initiative to work with the attorney, and we got a court order restricting the banks from distributing any part of the accounts. RESULT according to the attorney: “We were able to come to a settlement as well as a recommendation on the criminal proceedings involved in this fraud. We were able to obtain a settlement for $135,000, including $7000 in cash, distribution of $26,500 from this person’s profit-sharing proceeds, repayment of $50,000 from the sale of her house, and a monthly payment schedule. We are also suggesting a ten-year suspended sentence subject to the terms of our agreement.” Case Study 2: Our client received information about a possible fraud taking place at their workplace and turned to UCMJ Investigations as experienced investigators with fraud investigative experience. We met the informant covertly at least eight times over a period of several weeks and obtained more than 97 sworn statements. We also conducted surveillance, interviews, and database and records searches. Information we turned over to the client enabled them to file lawsuits in federal court for the approximate $4.5 million loss. Result: Case settled for an undetermined amount favorable to the client. No business is exempt from the risk of fraud, and even your trusted employees can commit fraud in your business. Don’t let denial prevent you from protecting yourself. Contact UCMJ Investigations today at 501-515-2868 for a free consultation. We can help you protect your business before it is too late. (While this issue may not directly be related to current services offered by UCMJ Investigations, the issues are relevant to the continued viability of your legal firm. they derive from our archived articles and are presented as a public service.) ** If you have a case and are not sure if an investigator can help or contribute to your case, contact us for a free review. ** |