Articles of Interest – Page 6

The New Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act: Bill C-22

Jennifer Fiddian-Green

Pardon me, but is that clean or dirty money?
A key question once Canada’s new legislation comes into effect.

The deal is almost closed, so far everything has gone as planned and this will be a great account to add to your list. All you need to do is take receipt of the funds and invest as planned with your client. Your new client provides funds with two cheques from different third parties, unusual but once the funds clear, you are ready to move ahead. One month later after payment of penalties for early redemption, this client has cashed out and your organization has provided a cheque. A clean cheque. What are the chances that your organization was used to launder funds? Continue reading The New Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act: Bill C-22

Vicarious Liability of Employers for Fraud by an Independent Contractor

Jim Patterson and Maureen Ward – Bennett Jones LLP

Vicarious Liability: A Brief Summary – First published in Legal Alert, 22:5 (Carswell, Aug 2003).

There are two long-standing maxims that capture the theoretical bases for vicarious liability. They are:

Qui facit per allium facit per se (he who acts through another, acts through himself); and

Respondeat superior (the superior must answer) Continue reading Vicarious Liability of Employers for Fraud by an Independent Contractor

Conflict of Interest

Robert Forsyth, CFI, FCGA, MBA, MA & Ralph Palumbo, LL.B.

The ethics of professional advisors have taken on a much higher profile in the wake of auditing scandals (e.g. Enron, Worldcom) in the United States. An issue of particular concern is the apparent conflicts of interest, both for the auditor, and for directors and management. For the Certified Forensic Investigator (CFI), there is often an assumption that their role is carefully enough defined that there can’t be any problems with a ‘conflict of interest’. Unfortunately problems can and do arise. Continue reading Conflict of Interest

Insurance – A Critical Defence Against Employee Fraud

Rob Fowlie, CA-IFA, CFI

Employee fraud is “big business” that will cost the U.S. economy approximately US$600 billion in 2002, according to one US Study. Victimized businesses usually suffer significant losses – over half of frauds committed cause losses of at least US$100,000 and nearly one in six result in losses of over US$1 million. Similar data doesn’t exist for Canada, but employee fraud is unlikely to be any less of a threat to Canadian business. Continue reading Insurance – A Critical Defence Against Employee Fraud

E-Defamation

Howard W. Winkler and Stephen M. Satchel

E-mailers and Bulletin Board users Beware! As everyone and everything moves to the internet so too does the law of defamation.

E-mail and the internet are becoming common methods of communicating both within organizations and to the world at large. While there is very little case law to date on the subject, it is widely agreed that the general law of defamation will apply to e-mail communications and information posted on or transmitted through the internet. Electronic communications are often not confidential and the potential scope of distribution of an imprudent remark or statement could be very wide. This could have the effect of converting what would otherwise be a private, non-actionable communication into something for which damages might have to be paid.

What Is Defamation?
A defamation is committed when anyone publishes false words to a person or entity’s discredit. Continue reading E-Defamation

Embezzling Your Way to Riches

Denis Desnoyers

Movie and rock stars have a new word to describe affluence, success, sex appeal and being part of the in crowd. It is called “bling bling”. The media and social disjointedness culminate to create a malaise of self centeredness which steers people into a confusing environment. Everyone, it seems, wants their share of bling bling. For the over whelming majority of us, reality involves working hard and domestic responsibilities, neither of which afford us the opportunity to strut our way around town. Unfortunately, there is an increasingly large group of individuals whose questionable morals and strong desire to live the dream life allows them to justify actions which the rest of us would deem as embezzlement. Continue reading Embezzling Your Way to Riches

The Forensic Accountant’s Guide to the Law of Privilege: What To Do When a Fraudster Claims Privilege

Lang Michener LLP edited by David Debenham, Partner

How Privilege Affects Your Practice

“Understanding the law of privilege is a prerequisite to doing a thorough and proper investigation. Investigators must constantly remind themselves that litigation is not the end of their investigation, as important evidence may be garnered through the court process itself. Every investigator must be constantly acquiring and collating evidence as it presents itself during the course of the litigation…”

The Forensic Accountant's Guide to the Law of Privilege: What To Do When a Fraudster Claims Privilege — The Forensic Accountant’s Guide to the Law of Privilege: What To Do When a Fraudster Claims Privilege

Fraud Investigation: Perspectives on Interviewing

John McNally

Introduction

As a student in the business program at Vancouver Island University (VIU), I had the opportunity this spring to combine a course in accounting fraud, which I had just taken, with the ‘Many Faces of Fraud’ conference in Toronto in May. I took advantage of this opportunity because I wanted to explore working in this field and I thought the conference would help me make this decision. Continue reading Fraud Investigation: Perspectives on Interviewing

Who is the Fraudster? – The Case Against Destroying Draft Report

David Debenham, Partner – Lang Michener, LLP

Fraudsters benefit themselves by deceiving others. As an expert it is your task to uncover the deception and quantify the benefit to the fraudster, and the loss to the victim. When testifying, you swear an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in relation to allegedly fraudulent activities and the damage it has caused. It therefore mystifies me as to how forensic investigators can appear in classrooms and conferences and openly share ideas about how to best destroy their draft expert reports, and camouflage their communications with counsel rather than speaking up to stop these pernicious practices. The reasons are obvious. Continue reading Who is the Fraudster? – The Case Against Destroying Draft Report

The Critical Final Stage of Your Investigation: The Forensic Investigator’s Guide to Using the Litigation Process

David Debenham, Partner – Lang Michener, LLP

“A textbook approach to an investigation involves the pre-engagement and planning phase, the “freeze and formulate” stage, the investigation stage, and the reporting and wrap up phase. Normally, the forensic investigator assumes that the reporting and wrap up phase ends when they have provided a report to their client that either leads to litigation, or is presented in the process of litigation. That should not be the case….” Continue reading The Critical Final Stage of Your Investigation: The Forensic Investigator’s Guide to Using the Litigation Process