Fraud Related Reports and Alerts published by the Arizona Office of the Auditor General. http://www.azauditor.gov/rss/fraud.xml Fraud Copyright 2009 AZ Auditor General en-us Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:46:25 -0700 webmaster@azauditor.gov Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0700 webmaster@azauditor.gov FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.3.1) http://www.feedforall.com The Office of the Arizona Auditor General has issued a special investigation on the theft and misuse of public monies relating to the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. Our investigation revealed that a former Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs employee embezzled and misused more than $2.7 million from the Department and the Arizona National Guard Emergency Relief Fund, a nonprofit corporation. On October 19, 2011, the Arizona State Grand Jury indicted the former employee on felony charges related to theft, fraudulent schemes, and forgery for the time period of January 2007 through August 2011. On February 15, 2012, as part of a plea agreement, the former employee pled guilty to two felony counts related to theft and fraudulent schemes. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/State_Agencies/Agencies/Emergency_and_Military_Affairs_Department_of/Investigative/DEMA_Special_Investigation.htm webmaster@azauditor.gov Report A4EA3BAE-4A7E-4FDB-B9C1-F6E58462F2ED Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0700 The Office of the Arizona Auditor General has issued a special investigation on the misuse of public monies relating to the Yuma Union High School District No. 70. Our investigation revealed that from January 2002 through September 2007, Mark Rau, former Yuma High School teacher, may have violated state laws related to misuse of public monies while misusing at least $86,276 that was intended for the benefit of Yuma High School students. Mr. Rau diverted monies from sales at the student store, deposits for school trips, and extracurricular tax credit donations to his personal bank and credit union accounts. Additionally, Mr. Rau prepared or authorized false documents related to his mismanagement of the student store. On January 30, 2012, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office presented evidence of Mr. Rau’s alleged crimes to the State Grand Jury, which resulted in his indictment on felony charges related to misuse of public monies and tampering with a public record. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/School_Districts/Districts/Yuma%20UHSD/Investigative/Yuma_UHSD_Special_Investigation.htm webmaster@azauditor.gov Report 7D4416AB-62CD-4121-8381-6AB47142613F Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0700 The Office of the Arizona Auditor General has issued a Fraud Alert relating to Billing Schemes. These kinds of schemes are a common type of fraud that occurs when employees cause their employer to issue a payment for an illegitimate or overstated charge. The schemes generally last about 2 years before being detected and have a median loss of nearly $130,000. This Fraud Alert provides some background information on billing schemes and recommended internal controls that can help protect your organization. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_11-03.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert B5D394FD-4D78-415A-9D64-C58A8E1EF65E Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:00 -0700 The Office of the Arizona Auditor General has issued a Fraud Alert relating to Internal Controls. Most frauds occur because organizations lack effective internal controls. This Fraud Alert addresses the importance of maintaining an effective system of internal control and recommends a few controls to help prevent and detect fraud. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_11-02.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert AA4FCFCA-CEB9-4BEE-85E6-15B13BB9ADBC Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:00:00 -0700 The Office of the Arizona Auditor General has issued a Fraud Alert relating to Purchasing Cooperatives. Purchasing goods or services through a cooperative purchasing agreement can result in overpayments, higher prices, and substituted products. This Fraud Alert addresses purchases made through purchasing cooperatives and recommends due diligence procedures to help ensure that cooperatives are adhering to procurement rules, providing equitable pricing, and passing along vendor discounts. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_11-01.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert 39A97A53-3CF8-47EB-B1A7-62C41055314E Wed, 18 May 2011 14:00:00 -0700 Most fraud is detected from tips received by employees, customers, vendors, and other sources. For governmental organizations, tips uncovered over three times as many frauds as any other method of detection. This Fraud Alert provides some background on detecting fraud schemes and recommended internal controls that can help protect your organization. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_10-04.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert F1C4C030-7167-47D1-A9A5-B1910AE57D28 Tue, 28 Dec 2010 08:00:00 -0700 Embezzlement is a serious problem in the United States, with estimated losses of up to $600 billion annually. The three costliest types of embezzlement schemes include theft of cash from bank deposits, skimming of cash receipts, and fraudulent disbursements. Most of the embezzlement cases that we investigate at the Office of the Auditor General involve officials in management positions who abuse their authority and override established internal controls. This Fraud Alert provides some background on embezzlement and recommended internal controls that can help protect your organization. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_9-10.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert 2A954110-A58C-408E-83CF-12152FDCC37B Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:00:00 -0700 From July 2004 through March 2009, Janet Thor, former principal, misused at least $54,791 of public monies and embezzled at least $33,940. Ms. Thor perpetrated her scheme by diverting monies received from local businesses, parent support organizations, and community members into unauthorized bank accounts. Then, Ms. Thor wrote checks payable to herself, withdrew cash, and wrote checks for her personal expenses from the accounts. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has taken criminal action against Ms. Thor, resulting in her indictment on felony charges. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/School_Districts/Districts/Kyrene_ESD/Investigative/Kyrene_SD_Special_Investigation.htm webmaster@azauditor.gov Report 6F05FC20-666D-4A24-AD88-0A06D68034E5 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:30:00 -0700 A conflict of interest occurs when a public official participates in an official action that could result in a financial benefit to himself or herself, a family member, or a business with which either is associated and fails to disclose that interest in a public record. Most of the conflict-of-interest cases that we investigate at the Office of the Auditor General involve officials in management positions who abuse their authority and override established internal controls. They often use their positions to inappropriately hire relatives or award contracts to businesses in which they have a personal interest. Conflict-of-interest violations can result in a significant loss of public monies and public trust. This Fraud Alert provides some background on conflict of interest and recommended internal controls that can help protect your organization. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_07-10.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert 1F9554C5-2458-447E-9487-DE1C20256A37 Fri, 9 Jul 2010 10:00:00 -0700 Procurement fraud is one of the most common fraud schemes that we investigate at the Arizona Office of the Auditor General. These schemes often result in a government paying more for goods and services than they are worth. This Fraud Alert provides some background on procurement fraud and recommended internal controls that can help protect your organization. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_03-10.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert 6D4CBD09-66B8-48B5-83B9-473AF3C23ACE Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:00:00 -0700 This alert includes information about overpaying investment brokers for investment securities such as U.S. Treasury securities and corporate bonds resulting in an ongoing problem for governmental entities nation-wide. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_12-09.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert D8C34802-CA9E-4220-991A-E0866759268D Tue, 8 Dec 2009 07:30:00 -0700 The former Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services Director mishandled more than $1 million of department monies by participating in the employment of his son and wife, gifting public monies to individuals and private corporations, and circumventing procurement rules. On November 18, 2009, the Arizona State Grand Jury indicted the former Director on felony charges related to the misuse of public monies, conflict of interest, procurement fraud, and fraudulent schemes. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/State_Agencies/Agencies/Veterans_Services_Department_of/Investigative/AZ_Department_of_Veterans_Services_Special_Investigation.htm webmaster@azauditor.gov Report FAABAFAF-077F-4E04-B1A4-E005637F5D30 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0700 This alert includes information about several states that may have been defrauded by a scheme involving Automated Clearing House payments to vendors. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_6-09.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert 5700BACB-6C92-4F43-BEAB-AD77E5BA050B Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:17:48 -0700 This alert includes information about Arizona governments use of purchasing cards, a type of credit card, to pay for goods and services. Employees can easily use purchasing cards to make fraudulent purchases. http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/Other/FAD/Fraud_Alert_8-09.pdf webmaster@azauditor.gov Alert C1AAE785-B5C1-443C-AB92-972F27E9390E Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:13:25 -0700