Ever hear of Fred Tokars? He was an expert white collar crime money launderer. We hear that term, money laundering, associated with white collar crime on the news and in crime reports but does the average person actually know what it means?
Mr. Tokars, an attorney in the 1990’s in metro Atlanta, seemed to think it was necessary to have a hit man kill his wife in front of their children. Apparently she found out that he was laundering money. Dirty criminal money.
In the white collar crime world money laundering is very prevalent because most of the money that is laundered is gained illegally. (It wouldn’t need laundering if it wasn’t illegally obtained) People want to cover their tracks.
Money laundering is defined as the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source and/or destination of illegally gained money. Tax evasion and false accounting make up many of the white collar crime accusations in the money laundering world.
So how do white collar crime experts launder money? Say a business, such as a gas station, has a long standing relationship with a bank. If they have made consistent deposits for years, then the opportunity may arise to make a “larger” than normal deposit every now and then. This doesn’t look criminal, can be attributed to the business and the money launderer can now pull their money out of the bank all nice and clean. There is a limit on deposits however, anything over $10000 is bank monitored.
People can also use shell companies that show income on the books but actually don’t make any money. The income is reported, taxes are paid and the money is laundered. This is white collar crime at its best.
Do you suspect white collar crime in your business? Contact us or call 770.426.0547.
In order to be a successful corporate fraud investigator, you may need skills you aren’t aware of. It takes more than private investigator criminal catching know-how to be on the team that investigates corporate fraud. There are a variety of crimes investigated by these individuals that range from tax evasion to embezzlement.
Corporate fraud crimes have a different scope, complexity and magnitude than your common everyday theft or fraud case contains. The ramifications can have economic consequences for employees and communities and can often affect the entire investment market.
A corporate fraud investigator needs to have accounting expertise. Corporate accounting can have infinite intricacies in the book keeping methods they use. Not only does the investigator need accounting know how, but a vase computer knowledge is needed to be able to manipulate complicated accounting software.
The corporate fraud investigator will also need to be a bit of a computer “hacker”. Often important documents have been password protected or encrypted to prevent detection.
According to several online sources and our own peoples experience, corporate fraud investigators will have anywhere between five and twenty-five years of experience. Rates are dependent on the experience level of the individual.
Want an expert corporate fraud investigator? Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
There are many ways retailers can help themselves prevent shoplifting on a daily basis. One of the best ways is to choose your location wisely. Have you ever wondered why some retailers don’t do well even though the store concept is great? Sometimes it’s all about location; well it’s the same with shoplifting prevention. Here are some location ideas that can help keep shoplifting to a minimum in your retail areas.
If you have a choice, choose a store front that is located inside a mall versus on the outside street. If a thief wants to have a quick exit, it will be harder for them to lift merchandise and escape through a mall than directly into a vehicle waiting on the street corner.
Choosing a store front a bit of a distance away from a city center will also help keep prevent shoplifting and keep theft to a minimum. Stores located right in the city center are higher crime areas than the suburbs. This increases not only the criminal activity in the area, but shoplifting in particular.
Location of items inside your store can also help you as a retailer prevent shoplifting, but the location of your check out register in the store will also be a deterrent if placed in the right location. Ever wonder why retail outlets always have their checkout stands at the front of the store? It is a proven fact that stores where individuals must pass the register to exit have a lower shoplifting rate than stores with registers located in another area.
Help prevent shoplifting by keeping your store clean, tidy, well-lit and clutter free! Need help preventing shoplifting? Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Cell phones are a common staple in today’s society. Almost all people, from the elderly to the toddler age have one. Unfortunately, criminals can use our cell phones against us. White collar crime involving cell phones has increased exponentially over the last few years. Typically white collar criminals are of high social standing, have higher than average paying jobs and commit some sort of crime.
Yes, even my 76 year old mother has a cell phone. I’m not sure she knows how exactly to use it, but yep she has one. The increase in technology has given criminals a whole new avenue to defraud people, cell phone cloning and service fraud.
What is cell phone fraud? It’s the unlawful use, tampering or manipulation of a cell phone or the actual cell phone service. It would never occur to most people but…There are all types of evil criminal things we can do to commit fraud with a cell phone. The two most prevalent crimes are cell phone cloning and subscriber fraud.
Cloning is based on the fact that every single cell phone in the world has a unique factory set electronic serial number and telephone number. You can take a phone, “clone” another phone’s electronic serial number and phone number and bam, an unsuspecting user is charged for fraudulent calls. Where does the white collar crime come in? It’s easier to work for a cell phone company and obtain the electronic serial numbers to commit the cloning.
Subscriber fraud is when a person or persons signs up for service with fraudulent identity. Where is the white collar crime in this? These criminals may work in a retail store or outlet and obtain your personal information, open a cell phone account using that information and cause you months or years of frustration trying to clear your name and good credit standing.
Have you been a victim of white collar crime? Contact us at www.losspreventionsystems.com or call 1.770.426.0547 for assistance.
Insurance scams are a leaving corporate fraud problem in the United States. Insurance Fraud is intentionally obtaining funds from an insurance company for a purposeful act that is fraudulent. These types of frauds not only cost companies billions of dollars annually, but can affect the lives of innocent by standers as well. The Coalition against Insurance Fraud estimates that in 2006 a total of about $80 billion was lost in the United States due to insurance fraud.
Let’s look at an example of corporate fraud that affects the insurance market. People have faked their death to benefit from life insurance. In 2002, a gentleman named John Darwin supposedly died in a canoeing accident. Well, in 2007 he turned up claiming no memory of the last 5 years.
Medical disability is also one of the leading corporate fraud scams for insurance companies and worker’s compensation. Say an employee is able to convince a medical professional they are unable to work due to an injury they sustained while on the job. Not only is the company out worker’s compensation monies, but the government is out disability funds if they employee claims they cannot ever work! My dream job would be follow these folks around that are capable of holding a job but defrauding the government for disability and take photos of them roofing their house or shopping for shoes for 12 hours.
Corporate fraud in the insurance market is one of the hardest to prove. Do you think your corporation, insurance company or otherwise, have been the victim of Fraud? Contact us call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
