Fraud Eats Strategy

In this episode, we discuss trade-based money laundering. According to the intergovernmental money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), there are three primary methods that transnational criminal and terrorist organizations utilize to launder the proceeds of illicit activity and use illicit proceeds to finance terrorist operations. 1. Through the use of the financial system; 2. Physical movement of hard currency by use of couriers and smuggling techniques and; 3. Through the physical movement of commercial and consumer goods in international trade. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

The Carrasco case is a cross-border financial crime that is worth revisiting. Its lessons remain as relevant today as they were in 1998 when the fraud first erupted. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

Conducting investigations in certain parts of the world can be challenging because of the business practices, language barriers and cultural differences. In some of those countries, they are discouraged or even unlawful. When you overlay travel restrictions during a global health crisis, challenging doesn’t begin to describe it. In this episode, we discuss how global organizations are a microcosm of the countries and cultures in which they operate. Understanding the customs, languages, business practices and cultural norms is an essential part of conducting effective investigations when operating outside of the U.S. In many parts of the world, business practices and cultural norms tacitly endorse bribery, corruption, and other financial and property crimes. Companies are expected to operate within the law in each country in which they operate and to follow the standards and practices delineated in the organization’s code of conduct and corporate compliance program. Compliance programs are expected to have certain program elements including mechanisms for confidential reporting of suspected wrongdoing and an efficient, reliable, and properly funded process for investigating the allegation and documenting the company’s response, including any disciplinary or remediation measures taken. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

Most financial services companies above a certain size have one or more Financial Investigations Units (FIUs) and Special Investigations Units (SIUs) to investigate various threats against the institution and/or its customers. The missions vary from those that narrowly focus on risks such as card fraud and elder financial fraud, to those focused broadly on both insider and external threats against the institution and its customers. While BSA/AML and sanctions units command a great deal of regulatory attention, FIUs have the same SAR filing obligations as their AML and sanctions counterparts. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

In this episode we look inside the United Nations and its various agencies. We assess the harsh reality of endemic corruption in how governments intersect with UN agencies. Given its unique mission, the nature of how it is funded and disbursed funds largely for things such as large-scale infrastructure building, healthcare, education and peace-keeping, and the fact that its employees and officers are foreign officials under the law, the UN represents a perfect storm of corruption risk. Scott Moritz speaks to Murphy & McGonigle law partner Robert “Bob” Appleton. Bob was Chief of the first ever UN Anti-Corruption Unit, the Procurement Fraud Task Force, which existed between 2006-2010, and was responsible in part for the focus of the FCPA by the Fraud Section at DOJ. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

In this episode we examine pump and dump schemes in which thinly traded penny stocks are held by unscrupulous broker-dealers through nominees who push the stock on unsophisticated investors, drive up the share prices and then sell their shares at inflated prices causing the stock value to drop significantly. The term pump and dump is not widely known outside of securities enforcement but the names of the practitioners are more familiar. Stratton Oakmont’s Jordan Belfort (of Wolf of Wall Street fame), Benjamin Conde, Power Traders Press, Rooney Pace, A.R. Baron and the granddaddy of them all, Bob Brennan of First Jersey Securities, introduced the world to stock boiler rooms which have continued to be a blight on the securities industry. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com/

In this episode, we’re going to explore the little-known area of “shadow investigations” in which accounting firms oversee internal investigations being performed by outside counsel and their forensic investigations counterparts in an effort to ensure the investigation is scoped appropriately such that it will provide sufficient information for the audit partner to comfortably sign off on the auditee’s financial statements. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode of Fraud Eats Strategy , we discuss why we need compliance officers now more than ever. The workforce that emerges from the combination of stay at home orders and the financial crisis will be very different than ever before. Each of us is dealing with unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. These external stressors can cause people in positions of trust to suspend good judgment. They can put themselves and their organizations at risk in the process. Decision-making under stress and unreasonable times pressure can be a perfect storm during which business ethics may be given short shrift. Joining us today is Richard Bistrong. Richard is the CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery LLC through which he conducts corporate workshops and keynotes to sales teams, leadership groups (including boards and c-suite executives), and compliance teams (including internal audit, finance, and HR). For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In today's episode, we examine the often opaque, secretive world of fine art and how billions of dollars, a lot of which is from unknown origins, leads to the sales of fine art. Joining us to talk about this subject is Kobre & Kim partner Rob Rathmell. Rob specializes in providing offensive, counter-offensive, and defensive strategies for high-net-worth individuals and institutions in international litigation involving allegations of fraud, money laundering, sanctions violations, and other forms of misconduct. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode we discuss the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions and other areas of sanctions compliance and the inherent challenges of operating a company in compliance with U.S. and international sanctions when the lists of sanctioned parties are a moving target. Joining us are two experts on the subject of U.S. Trade and Economic Sanctions, Arnold & Porter Partner Baruch Weiss and co-host Eric Rudolph of FTI Consulting. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode, we discuss the rapidly expanding use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation to undertake trade surveillance and mitigate fraud. Joining me today are two experts on the subject of Artificial intelligence from both the technical and legal and compliance perspectives. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode, we talk about the uncomfortable and sometimes terrifying situation when a compliance officer must critique a member of leadership team and living to tell about it. In recent years, the expression “tone at the top” has been displaced by “conduct at the top” ushering in a new era of leadership accountability and transparency by the DOJ and other enforcement agencies in the U.S. and overseas. As a practical matter, compliance officers must on occasion investigate or critique members of the leadership team when conducting an internal investigation or assessing the ethics and compliance program. Joining me today is Matt Tanzer. For 13 years, Matt held various positions at Tyco including Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer. A position he also held after Tyco was merged into Johnson Controls. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode, we talk about why this may be exactly the right time to perform a meaningful fraud risk assessment. Fraud risks are like potential explosions. The vulnerability of fraud can lay dormant for years until and unless someone in a position to exploit the control weakness, formulates a rationalization and is off and running. Joining us today is Bruce Dorris CEO and President of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The ACFE is a member organization of over 85,000 Certified Fraud Examiners and the world’s largest anti-fraud organization. The ACFE is also a standard setter for anti-fraud and investigative leading industry practices having created many important publications including the Report to the Nations, the Occupational Fraud and Abuse Classification System and the Fraud Risk Management Guide. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode, we talk about the importance of seeing your compliance program through the government’s eyes. The DOJ Fraud Section recently released its latest update to their guidance on evaluation of corporate compliance programs. While it does not represent a major rewrite, it did provide further clarity on the government’s expectations on post-merger integration, continuous program improvement and compliance’s access to relevant data sources needed to drive the program. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this episode, we talk about one of the more challenging aspects of regulatory compliance - measuring return on investment. Important elements of an effective compliance program include confidential reporting and investigations. Today we speak to two subject matter experts on confidential reporting, Carrie Penman, Chief Compliance Officer of NAVEX Global, a widely noted compliance luminary and Kyle Welch, Assistant Professor, George Washington University’s School of Business. Carrie and Kyle have collaborated on several studies on how to measure the return on investment of compliance hotlines. Join us to hear about what you can do to help your measurements. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this second episode of Fraud Eats Strategy, Scott Moritz speaks to Neil Barofsky, a partner at Jenner & Block and the former Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program about these issues. We will explore the increased discovery of financial crimes that occur in a down cycle of the economy and how organizations can use fraud risk assessments to identify fraud, pursue avenues of recovery and strengthen their organizations against the potential negative consequences of fraud. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this first episode of Fraud Eats Strategy with Scott Moritz he speaks to former Enron Whistleblower Sherron Watkins about the many red flags that were ignored, the ill-fated board decisions and the wide-ranging complicity that led to Enron’s implosion. Sherron’s memo to former Enron leadership warned of the accounting irregularities that would cause the company to “implode in a wave of accounting scandals” and sparked what is now one of the biggest fraud and misconduct cases in American history. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com

In this introduction, you will meet Scott Moritz, President of White Collar Forensic. The series features a deep dive into the various ways fraud can affect each and every one of us. Join us each week as we take a deep dive into the various forms of fraud across the world and discuss crime families, penny stock boiler rooms, international money launderers, narco-traffickers, oligarchs, dictators, warlords, kleptocrats, and more. For more information visit: https://whitecollarforensic.com