Financial Crime News

The USA's Inland Revenue Service, the IRS, has reported "a steep drop" in identity fraud related cases in recent years but it is still a serious problem.

Amar Choudry, 38, of Linton Drive, Heaton, Bradford; Yasir Choudry, 30, and Qaisar Choudry, 28, of Duchy Crescent, Heaton; Faisal Choudry, 37, of Duchy Drive, Heaton; and Mudasar Alishan, 40, of Oakdale Drive, Shipley were this week convicted of involvement in the production and sale of clothing bearing counterfeit brands and other copyright breaches generating about half-a-million pounds. They were part of a group that has received suspended sentences for a highly organised system of criminal behaviour, on an industrial scale.

Yet another case of false and fraudulent billing under the USA's Medicare system demonstrates how easy it is for medical practitioners to defraud both national and insurance-backed medical funding providers in the USA and elsewhere. Benjamin Rosenberg, D.D.S., 58, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to a sample count of health care fraud before U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt of the Central District of California. Sentencing will take place on May 23 before Judge Kronstadt. There weren't many big insurance companies he didn't defraud.

Spammers have long been involved in directory fraud of one sort or another. Just as in the days of paper, letters are carefully phrased to make victims think they must make a payment. Then, hidden away at the bottom of the page is a note saying "this is not an invoice" and something along the lines of "you only have to pay if you want the service." These days, the spam-scammers also include something to tell you that they are complying with the USA's spam facilitation Act, mysteriously known as the Can Spam Act. And this one doesn't even tell victims what service they are supposedly subscribed to.

Just because a CFO has his hand on the cheque book doesn't mean he can write cheques for anything he likes.

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission has been looking at how prices at petrol pumps move, with changes taking place in what, on the face of it, seems in concert. But, the ACCC says, there is in fact no evidence of collusion: it's simply price-watching and price-matching between operators. And if consumers take advantage of hints, there could be an enormous injection of discretionary spending from disposable income or a reduction in credit card debt across the country.

The news, then, is that what might have been suspected as a crime is not a crime at all.

There is a fascinating case before the US Supreme Court relating to confiscation of assets used in furtherance of a crime as distinct from proceeds of criminal conduct. Oral argument took place last week and there is a transcript and recording here:

https://www.oyez.org/cases/201...

The fraud is old hat. The bitcoin address is, presumably, valid and enforcement agencies may wish to track and attack it. And, of course, any financial institution which has records of it should identify it as a suspicious account.

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It's that time again: PayPal spam-scam time. But even by the standards of badly constructed spam-scams, this one is bad. So bad it's funny and so bad that anyone who falls victim to it may just be too stupid to live. But the bigger danger is that it's not a phishing scam but a way of placing malware on victims' computers and if that happens they are being human not stupid.

It's a story that has grabbed the headlines - a week after it was first published. One suspects that there was much fact-checking going on before a New York Times article that says US President Trump "participated..in outright fraud," a statement of such extraordinary bluntness that the mere fact that it appears in print is at least as shocking as the allegation itself. There are so many things to consider but in FinancialCrimeRiskOfficers.com, we are interested in a relatively narrow aspect of the story...

Identity fraud is usually a relatively unsophisticated operation. Usually, but not always. Kenneth Gibson of Reno, Nevada, USA, was not a usual suspect.

Image courtesy USA FBI Las Vegas field office.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued warnings relating to fake websites and/or phishing attacks on customers of three banks: China Citic, OCBC Wing Hang and Bank of China.

"Attention: Nigel Morris-Cotterill

This is an exclusive notification from the District Court of Basel-Stadt (Strafgericht des Kantons Basel-Stadt).
We regret to inform you that your identity has been compromised in an identity theft scheme recently uncovered here in Switzerland."

I am soooooooooooo convinced.

It's the fault of Hollywood and TV producers everywhere, with a bit of help from the tabloids and the over-excitement of both American politicians and law enforcement: as soon as someone mentions "cartel," thoughts jump to major drugs gangs. It's the same problem that led to a survey result in the UK where children thought the emergency telephone number is 911 (it's 999 and there are also European standard numbers that start with a 1 but no one can be bothered to remember them). In the vast majority of cases, the word "cartel" doesn't relate to drugs gangs at all. In relation to the way people conduct business by means of illegal collusion. That might not be as "sexy" as the idea of bankers being dragged to jail with their noses still covered in white powder but the ramifications of the...

bolor@euroexchangesecurities.c...
*Swift Outward Transaction Report*