Category: Fraud

Fraud

A Guide to Overcoming Identity Theft by Brandon Bowers


Posted on February 20, 2024 by Brandon Bowers

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft continues to be one of the fastest-growing crimes in the U.S., with more than 1.1 million cases reported in 2022. The repercussions of falling victim to this type of fraud can be overwhelming, but there are proactive steps you can take to mitigate the damage and […]

Production of Financial Documents to Prove Economic Damages – How to Obtain the Documentary Support Needed to Prove Lost Profits? by Daniel S. Hughes, CPA/CFF/CGMA, CVA, and Richard S. Fechter, JD, CFE, CAMS


Posted on November 10, 2023 by Daniel Hughes

When my colleagues and I delivered a presentation to the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar about proving and defending claims of lost profits in commercial litigation matters, a Florida Judge asked a thought-provoking question: How many years of financial documents should a Plaintiff seeking economic damages be able to get (2 years, 3 […]

Forensic Accounting / Financial Investigations — New Regulations Hope to Provide Effective Tools to Identify Beneficial Owners by Richard S. Fechter, JD, CFE, CAMS


Posted on November 10, 2023 by Richard Fechter

Victims of crimes, law enforcement and other interested parties often retain forensic accountants to investigate financial crimes. These professionals have specialized multidisciplinary skills necessary to identify financial crimes, analyze the financial transactions constituting the overt acts of these crimes, and provide expert testimony on the methodologies criminals use and the damages victims incur. The critical […]

A Cautionary Tale About Expert Testimony in Damages Calculations by Joel Glick, CPA/CFF, CFE, CGMA


Posted on September 19, 2023 by Joel Glick

A Pennsylvania judge recently vacated a plaintiff’s $25 million damages award based on the plaintiff’s expert failure to provide at trial “a sufficient factual basis” for the numbers he relied on for calculating lost profits. Although the judge in Paramount Financial: Civil Action Communications, et al. v. Broadridge investor: Communications Solutions agreed with the jury’s […]

IRS Cracks Down on Potentially Abusive Malta Pension Plans by Joseph Leocata, JD, CPA, MBA


Posted on August 30, 2023 by Joseph Leocata

The IRS’s Criminal Division ramped up its enforcement efforts relating to Maltese pension plans, which gained popularity after the signing of the U.S.-Malta Tax Treaty 2011 and the subsequent enactment of Malta’s Retirement Pension Act of 2011. In recent weeks, the department began issuing summons to U.S. taxpayers who participated in Maltese pension plans and […]

Tax Scams Surge this Summer by Brandon Bowers


Posted on August 16, 2023 by Brandon Bowers

Tax-related scams cast a dark cloud over this summer’s blue skies, putting taxpayers at increased risk of identity theft and fraud. To avoid falling victim to these scams, individuals should be alert to unsolicited telephone calls, emails and texts asking them to click links or share personal information, such as usernames and passwords, Social Security […]

3 Methods for Calculating Lost Profits by Scott Bouchner, CMA, CVA, CFE, CIRA


Posted on June 13, 2023 by Scott Bouchner

The $787.5 million settlement recently reached between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News is historic for many reasons, including both parties’ ability to agree upon a payout amount just minutes before the trial was set to begin. In its initial suit, Dominion sought damages totaling $1.6 billion for Fox News’s false and defamatory statements that […]

Be Alert to the 12 Most Common Tax Scams by Adam Cohen, CPA


Posted on May 10, 2023 by Adam Cohen

Criminals are constantly developing new and more elaborate ways to deceive taxpayers into revealing their personal identities and financial interests and ultimately cheating the U.S. tax system. To help protect yourself from becoming a victim of these crimes, the IRS annually publishes a “Dirty Dozen” list of the most common scams for which you should […]

Trends in International Tax Reporting, Failure to File Penalties by Joel G. Young, JD, LLM


Posted on May 02, 2023 by Joel Young

U.S. tax law requires taxpayers to annually report many of their cross-border activities, including the existence of foreign bank accounts, interests in foreign companies and large gifts from foreign persons. While most of these reports are merely informational and have no bearing on taxpayers’ actual U.S. tax liabilities, failing to file the appropriate forms or […]