March Badness: Last Month’s Biggest Fraud Stories

AUTHOR'S POST

Mandy Moody
ACFE Social Media Specialist

Reformed fraudster falls off the wagon
Former entrepreneurial whiz kid and convicted fraudster, Barry Minkow, struck a deal with federal prosecutors over his most recent fraud scheme involving Lennar Corp. Minkow’s first appearance in the spotlight was when he founded his wildly successful carpet cleaning business at just 16. He then reappeared in 1988 after after it was discovered his business was Ponzi scheme and sentenced to seven years in prison. Upon his release, Minkow claimed to be reformed, established the Fraud Discovery Institute, helped out the FBI and became a minister. However, his reformation was short-lived, as we witnessed his public fall from grace last week. Read more.

Judge denies dismissal of Texas brothers’ fraud suit
Brothers Charles and Sam Wyly are accused of using offshore entities to hide stock transactions involving four of their companies, thus breaking SEC reporting requirements and profiting more than $550 million over 13 years. U.S. District Judge Shira Sheindlin swiftly rejected the requests for dismissal and declared the show must go on. Read more.

Stewardess can’t handle the weight of coin fraud
The assistance so kindly offered by a customs official to a Lufthansa flight attendant struggling to lift her suitcase at a German airport led to the discovery of an international coin fraud ring totaling more than $8.4 million. Six people were arrested and are suspected of rebuilding smuggled coins that had been taken out of circulation and were disposed of as scrap metal. The investigation is ongoing while the operation has been grounded…for now. Read more.

Read more fraud news at FraudInfo.com.

Are there any stories I missed? Leave your comments below.