Situation The former Chief Executive Officer of California cannabis delivery company Eaze Technologies, Inc. pled guilty to charges for conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with credit card processing for cannabis products on the Eaze website. Two foreigners were also charged in connection with the scheme to defraud banks. The defendants’ attempts at circumventing …
Situation This case study profiles the internet search engine Google, LLC. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Google owns the largest market share of search engines on the internet. According to investigators at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Google reached this status using illegal and anti-competitive methods. The U.S. Department of Justice and 11 states’ …
043: Justice Department Sues Google for anti-competitive practices Read More »
Situation This case study profiles Greeley, Colorado-based chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (PPC). Ten executives at two leading United States broiled chicken producers conspired to keep prices of their products artificially high. Multiple federal agencies investigated Pilgrim’s Pride and found it sold more than $360 million in broiled chicken products during the period reviewed. Those …
042: Pilgrim’s Pride fined $108 million for antitrust violations. Read More »
Situation This case study profiles southern California youth gymnastics center Perfect Point Corporation, South Coast Gymnastics, and two owners Jia Wen and Xiaoping Li. During a routine COVID-19 safety check, investigators with the labor department discovered the southern California gymnastics training facility routinely violated the state’s employee protection laws. South Coast Gymnastics allegedly failed to …
041: Two Olympic gymnasts fined for Wage Theft and violating Employee Protection Laws Read More »
Situation Two business owners conspired to defraud the US Small Business Administration (SBA) by concealing the true ownership status of their businesses when submitting bids to the SBA for federal government contracts. Created in 2019, the Procurement Collusion Strike Force provides a joint law enforcement effort to combat white-collar crimes related to fraudulent schemes impacting …
040: Michael Wibracht, Ruben Villarreal SBA Fraud Read More »
Situation Physician-owners at a respected hospital in Texas violated federal law by improperly charging Medicare when referring patients from their facility to another office in which they had a vested financial interest. After former employees filed a whistleblower, Hospital settled the civil action with the Department of Justice Civil Division.
Situation The former chief investment officer of a northern New Jersey regional medical practice pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The defendant and the business’s former CEO conspired to defraud mortgage lenders of mortgage loans on 13 rental properties in three states. We see here how two executives’ greed and …
038: Barton Schack, Regent Medical Properties, Bank Fraud Read More »
Situation International banking conglomerate HSBC, affiliates, and subsidiaries, abused banking and mortgage laws in the United States to their client’s detriment. Regulators with the Housing and Urban Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigated allegations of mortgage abuse by HSBC. We see how HSBC agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars due to its …
037: HSBC agreed to pay $601 million for abusive mortgage practices Read More »
Situation Ripple had designs to offer new digital assets for sale in the public exchange markets. The company received two legal opinions from an outside law firm confirming its ability to sell cryptocurrency without registering the assets with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Inadequate internal controls lead to significant liability the company and its founders.
Situation The FTC Red Flags Rule program details the types of businesses and organizations are required to participate. The program requires “financial institutions” and “creditors” (depending on their business activities) to conduct a periodic risk assessment to determine if they have “covered accounts.” The determination will not be based on the industry or sector, but …
Situation Authorities charged a former high school principal in Los Angeles with theft and misappropriation of funds resulting from payment received for unapproved use of school property. This profile offers insight for government officials and white-collar business professionals.
Situation Kidde, a manufacturer of fire suppressant products, failed to report defects in its products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. After federal investigators learned of the defects and injuries to consumers, the manufacturer lied to investigators. In this case study, we see what happens when this business failed to comply with federal law and …
032: Consumer Products Safety Commission Investigated Kidde Read More »
Situation A small business owner improperly took money from his own company to pay for an extravagant lifestyle. Several other small business owners were pulled into this scheme, as well as an internal bookkeeper, all of whom became targets of federal criminal investigations for white-collar crimes. The indictments against these small business owners expose each …
031: Embezzlement and Tax Fraud: Caesar DiCrecchio Read More »
Situation Venture capital firm in Denver, CO, engaged in an investment fraud scheme. The firm used fraudulent marketing practices to solicit new investors. They used the new investor funds to enrich themselves and their families, or to repay earlier investors. In this case study, we see how these businesses failed to comply with federal commodities …
030: Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Leads to $12 million in Fines Read More »
Situation Maintenance manager at fuel trucking company obstructed an OSHA investigation after an employee fatality at the trucking facility. OSHA investigators uncovered a lack of proper employee training at this facility and the maintenance manager lied to OSHA officials about his knowledge of the correct procedures to follow. Federal prosecutors brought charges against the maintenance …
Situation In this case, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a small tech company embezzled corporate funds for his own personal use. When confronted, the CFO attempted to hide the theft from his employer and sent forged bank statements, all in an effort to hide his crimes. The employer launched an investigation, which led to …
Situation The Federal Aviation Administration filed charges against Boeing over the new 737 Max aircraft. Boeing withheld key documents from the FAA after two 737 Max planes crashed, killing hundreds of people. This case study shows how the FAA responded. The company’s actions led to a fine of $2.5 billion.
Situation These doctors put children’s health at risk by falsifying medical research results. We see here how their criminal behavior results in hefty prison sentences.
Situation This case study shows how white-collar crime caused a family-owned Pennsylvania fuel supply subcontractor to file bankruptcy and 275 people lost their jobs. While serving as executives at Worley & Obetz (W&O) Jeffery Lyons, the company president and Judith Avilez, the company controller, schemed to defraud Fulton Bank out of more than $65 million. …
025: Fulton Bank, Fraudulent Loans, Worley & Obetz Read More »
Situation Unknown and untraceable online thieves attacked a Boulder, Colorado electronic data storage company with ransomware. The cyber-criminals demanded a $3.6 million ransom payment before it would allow the data storage company to regain access to its data. Fortunately, the data storage business already had a strong compliance and retention system in place. The company …
024: Cyber-criminals Seek $3.6 million In Ransomware Attack Read More »
