Fraud Talk: Justice for Fraud Victims - Remembering Who We’re Fighting For

In the fight against fraud, it can be hard to remember why we do it, especially when the fraudsters never seem to quit. Associate professor of accounting, taxation and business law at SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. David Glodstein, began the Justice for Fraud Victims Project to teach his students — and remind fraud examiners — who we're fighting for: the victims. In this episode, join Dr. Glodstein, CFE, and Kate Pospisil, CFE, the Communications Specialist at the ACFE, as they discuss the Justice for Fraud Victims Project, why programs like this matter and what we can do to further the fight for justice.

In this excerpt from episode 123, Kate and Dr. Glodstein speak about how the Justice for Fraud Victims Project benefits underprivileged groups and small businesses, while allowing the next generation of fraud fighters to learn and gain professional experience.

Kate: Do you ever get involved with cases that haven't been litigated yet?

David: Yes. Through the project, we're not trying to take business away from fraud examiners or Forensic accountants, but some people like minority communities, they might not be able to afford the services of a private forensic accountant. When they go to law enforcement, law enforcement might say your case is too small, we don't have the resources to put to that.

A lot of times where do they go? They don't know where to go. This developed as I was doing-- I used to go to various local community events and people wouldn't know who to return to. Do I go to the FBI? Do I go to federal? Do I go to State? Do I go to my local? People just gave up, like $2,000 or $5,000 to a large business that got defrauded might not mean that much, but to a small business entity, that might be the difference between being in business or not being in business.