Month: April 2011
Red Flags
Typically there are three ingredients that must be present in order for a fraud to take place. Commonly referred to as the “Fraud Triangle” these three ingredients are: Pressure – Forces playing upon individuals in positions of financial responsibility that would make them begin to contemplate doing something they otherwise would have never considered. Frequent […]
Woman gets 4 years in prison for embezzling more than $280,000 from Virginia Beach church
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A former financial officer has been sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling more than $280,000 from a Virginia Beach church. Michele Moeser Roberts pleaded guilty last December to felony embezzlement. Prosecutors say the 62-year-old Roberts wrote herself checks and gave false financial statements to the treasurer at Kings Grant […]
Church An Easy Target for Scam Artists
Affinity fraud, a type of investment fraud that preys upon members of identifiable groups, is an epidemic that is spreading throughout America’s churches. Pat Huddleston, former enforcement branch chief for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), points out that “there is an element of the pitch to a Christian that isn’t present in other pitches […]
Michigan Ponzi Scamster DeMiro Pleads Guilty
Dante DeMiro, age 43, was the founder and managing director of MuniVest Financial Group and MuniVest Services LLC in Southfield, Michigan, where he served as an investment adviser to various municipalities, credit unions, school districts, and trade unions. From at least March 2009 to September 2010, DeMiro falsely promised multiple clients that he would purchase […]
Cash – 3 Musts for Your Ministry
Segregation One of the most important measures your ministry can take to protect cash and YOU is implement segregation of duties, i.e. no single person should have control of the cash process. Ensure that the function of counting contributions and receipts is segregated from the depositing, general ledger and reconciliation functions. Accountability Accountability means that […]
All It Takes is One Person
As I was doing my routine search for fraud related news this morning, I stumbled upon this story: http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/113330879_Not-guilty_plea_in_swindle_that_snagged_church.html In my search for fraud related news articles I have come across a wide range of scenarios, but majority had a common denominator; the church impacted by fraud either dissolved or struggled for survival in the […]