Investigating White-collar Crime: Embezzlement and Financial Fraud

Investigating White-Collar Crime explains two basic questions every investigator must answer when beginning a financial investigation: “What am I trying to prove?” and “How am I going to prove it?” This book examines the criminal elements unique to embezzlement and fraud that often confound investigators, whose lack of expertise in accounting and auditing makes it difficult for them to prove the offenses. Chapters are included on criminological theory and the law related to white-collar crime, embezzlement, fraud, identity theft, accounting and auditing theory for investigators, financial interviewing and interrogation techniques, subpoenas and search warrants, evidence and documentation, proving illicit transactions, and case preparation and report writing. The author examines these issues from the practical view of a white-collar crimes investigator who helps police investigators gain a better understanding in detecting, investigating and preventing white-collar crime. Information is also contained on recent highly-publicized cases and explains how the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 can benefit investigators who work such cases. With interest in the newest white-collar crime on the rise, the author has included a new chapter dedicated to identity theft. Additionally, the book contains new ratio analysis tools and explains how to use Benford’s Law to discover fraudulent receipts.