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FRAUDBARON.com
The Anti-Fraud Professionals'
Source for Fraud News
#512 Updated: 11/27/07 11:38 a.m.

EL woman charged with embezzlement
reviewonline.com | 11/27/07 | Staff Writer
EAST LIVERPOOL — A former employee of the Graphic Communications International union
Local 638-S and the Tri-State District Joint Council has been indicted on charges of
falsification of union records and embezzlement from the union.  A federal grand jury
indicted Betty A. Illig, 64, of St. Clair Avenue late last week. She is accused of embezzling
$145,675 for her own use while employed as the union’s secretary-treasurer. The
indictment covered the period between Jan. 4, 2000 through May 8, 2004.  She is also
accused of making false statements in reports and documents to the Secretary of Labor
concerning the approval of the payments. Illig is reportedly scheduled to appear in federal
court on Dec. 7.

Ex-supervisor at Mercedes dealership gets prison for embezzlement
Los Angeles Times | 11/27/07 | Staff Writer
A former supervisor at a Mercedes-Benz dealership who pleaded guilty to embezzling more
than $1 million from the company was sentenced on day to 18 months in federal prison,
authorities said.  David Delgado, 37, was also ordered to pay the money back to Mercedes-
Benz of Laguna Niguel, where he worked for more than seven years.  Delgado admitted
creating bogus time sheets for temporary workers he supervised over a span of three
years and pocketing at least half the money paid by the dealership for hours never worked,
authorities said.

10 WAYS TO AVOID CORPORATE FRAUD
ohio.com | 11/26/07 | Betty Lin-Fischer
Here are some tips provided by Ray Dunkle, an Akron certified public accountant with
Brockman, Coats, Gedelian & Co. and a certified fraud examiner.

1 SET THE PROPER TONE AT THE TOP
Be ethical and show that you're monitoring and paying attention. ''If you're running your
business unethically, don't be surprised if someone returns the favor at some point,''
Dunkle said.

2 AWARENESS TRAINING
Bring someone in to talk about why people steal and the importance of reporting suspicious
activity. ''The No. 1 way fraud is detected is through someone opening their mouth. Forty
percent of fraud is through a tip,'' Dunkle said.

3 IMPLEMENT AN ANTI-FRAUD POLICY
Let your employees know who they can turn to if they suspect fraud and make sure there is
an ''anti-retribution'' clause to protect the employee coming forward with the information.
Have at least two channels for people to report to. If it's the CEO who is doing the stealing,
go to the board. If it's a privately owned business, go to other members of the family. If
your boss is committing tax fraud, go to the IRS.  Also, protect the identity of the accused
until you have adequate proof to present it to a prosecutor.

4 HAVE CHECKS AND BALANCES
This is a very broad category, but make sure you look over your practices. Dunkle warns
against allowing an employee to use a signature stamp for checks. Instead, have the
person whose name is signing the checks either sign the checks or use an electronic
system where he or she still reviews them.  When the mail comes, don't send checks
directly to the accounting department before they've been endorsed ''For Deposit
Only.''  Make sure to reconcile your bank accounts monthly; send statements to the owner
first before the accounting department.

5 ESTABLISH A FRAUD HOT LINE OR METHOD TO REPORT FRAUD
Offer a hot line that people can call or an anonymous box for tips. Dunkle suggests the hot
line, which he said is not as expensive as business owners may think. He once had a $40
million company with 90 employees that was able to get a hot line that was staffed 24
hours a day for $2,000 to implement and $2,000 a year.  ''I do tell companies, 'Don't try to
man it yourself,''' Dunkle said. ''I don't want to call anonymously to the guy sitting next to
me.''  Also, with a hot line, the staffer can keep a line of communication open with the
anonymous person to possibly get more information — perhaps suggesting that person call
back in two weeks.  

6 DON'T RELY SOLELY ON YOURSELF OR YOUR ACCOUNTANT
''There tends to be this perception that accountants are the financial police, that if my
accountants are looking at my records every year, they're going to catch it,'' Dunkle said.
What could be more effective is an internal audit or a surprise audit, he said.

7 DO BACKGROUND CHECKS ON NEW EMPLOYEES
Do a criminal background check, a credit check (to see if there's financial pressure on that
person), a civil background check (to see if there are lawsuits) and a driving-record check.
Dunkle said he wouldn't base a decision solely on a driving record, but studies have shown
that fraudsters have worse driving records.

8 CONTROL PHYSICAL ACCESS
As obvious as this sounds, lock your filing cabinets and use passwords on computers. Too
often, lax practices are used.

9 ESTABLISH JOB DESCRIPTIONS
''We all love the employees who go above and beyond the call of duty,'' Dunkle said. But
sometimes a person who is defrauding a company may appear to be helpful, but they're
trying to supersede access.  Require mandatory vacations, said Dunkle. ''A lot of times,
when fraudsters are in control of the books, they don't want to take any time off because
they're afraid when they do, the house of cards will fall down.''

10 PUNISH
A lot of times people want to sweep fraud under the rug, Dunkle said. ''They want it to go
away. But if you don't punish, the next person that is tempted to steal recognizes that
there aren't significant ramifications if you get caught,'' he said.

Hawaii judge gives scammer 30 years
honoluluadvertiser.com | 11/27/07 | Jim Dooley
Timothy Peter Janusz, a former lawyer, former accountant and convicted felon, was
sent to prison for 30 more years yesterday for once again stealing money from the
elderly.  Janusz, 48, tearfully told Circuit Judge Steven Alm that he was "ashamed and
appalled' by his conduct and asked the judge to be merciful and sentence him to no more
than 10 years behind bars.  He said he had "hit bottom" in his life. "I lost my wife, I threw
away my education, my training (because) I was prideful and selfish," he said. City Deputy
Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter said Janusz preyed on the elderly, among the "most
vulnerable and trusting" members of society.  Janusz showed a "predatory pattern of
criminal conduct toward elderly victims" and would do it again unless he is locked away for
a long time, Van Marter said. Alm agreed, sentencing Janusz to serve three consecutive 10-
year terms in prison.  "Whatever else you are, you are a con man," Alm told Janusz.
"Hopefully you've ripped off your last senior citizen," the judge said.  Janusz pleaded guilty
in September to defrauding the Salvation Army and four elderly donors who wanted to give
the charity more than $300,000.  The charity hired him in 2003 as the local director of
planned giving, but officials said they didn't learn until 2006 that Janusz had been convicted
in Colorado in 1996 of federal fraud charges involving $2.2 million belonging to an 88-year-
old couple.  He was arrested here in April 2006 and later charged with a series of Hawai'i
offenses, including attempted fraud of a 77- year-old man who was trying to give $150,000
to the Salvation Army.  Janusz admitted to that offense and also pleaded guilty to
defrauding two Honolulu women and a Big Island man of $141,000, and defrauding the
Salvation Army of more than $10,000 in mileage expenses. In addition to the prison
sentence, Alm yesterday ordered Janusz to pay restitution of about $44,000.  In the earlier
Colorado case, Janusz was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $184,000
in restitution. He escaped from a federal prison camp in South Dakota and fled to the
Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean, where he was was captured and returned to this
country to finish his prison sentence. After his release, he brought his family, including six
children, to Hawai'i and found employment at the Salvation Army. Van Marter said yesterday
that federal officials in South Dakota still intend to prosecute Janusz on an escape charge.
Salvation Army officials said that when Janusz was hired here, the charity did not perform
background checks on prospective employees except those who work with children, but
changed that policy after discovering Janusz's criminal past.

Great Falls woman sentenced in embezzlement, fraud case
kxmb.com | 11/27/07 | Associated Press
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) The former manager of a Great Falls dental office has been
sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $31,000 in an embezzlement case.
Connie Jo Jensen earlier pleaded guilty to bank and credit card fraud.  U.S. Attorney Bill
Mercer says Jensen stole more than $200,000 from the Family Dental Center while working
as office manager. He says Jensen embezzled funds from office credit card accounts
between 2003 and March of this year.  The U.S. attorney's office says the total loss was
more than $209,000 and that Jensen made substantial repayment on the loss prior to
being sentenced on Monday.

Suspect pleads guilty in check fraud case
bizjournals.com | 11/26/07 | Mark Anderson
Heather Anne Morshead, 25, of Magalia, pleaded guilty Monday to felony conspiracy and
bank fraud charges in federal court in Sacramento, admitting a role in a scheme to use
financial information stolen from more than 50 victims to produce fake checks.  According to
prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office, Morshead manufactured checks using financial
information stolen from mailboxes and through residential burglaries and car breakins.
Between November of last year and March of this year, she and her conspirators stole
between $30,000 and $70,000, prosecutors said. This case was investigated by the Butte
County Sheriff's Department, Chico Police Department, United States Postal Inspection
Service and other law enforcement agencies in Northern California, including state and local
authorities in Glenn, Tehama, and Plumas Counties.  She faces as much as five years
imprisonment on conspiracy charges and up to 30 years for bank fraud.  She is scheduled to
be sentenced March 3 before U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr.

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