Forensic Accounting Chapter 16 Conversion Investigation Methods Zimbelman

Forensic Accounting Chapter 16 Conversion Investigation Methods Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

To the Student q The Phar-Mor case at the beginning of this chapter is a classic fraud case. As you read this case and the rest of the chapter, consider ways in which fraudsters spend the money they embezzle. q If you had a seemingly easy source of money, where would you spend it? Where would those you know spend it? How would you as an investigator discover these purchases? Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Learning Objectives q Explain why finding out how perpetrators convert and spend their stolen funds is important. q Understand how federal, state, and local public records can assist in following the financial “tracks” of suspected perpetrators. q Access information via the Internet to assist in the investigation of a suspected fraud perpetrator. Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Learning Objectives q Perform net worth calculations on suspected fraud perpetrators and understand how net worth calculations are effective in court and in obtaining confessions. Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Conversion Searches Performed for two reasons: (1)to determine the extent of embezzlement (2)to gather evidence that can be used in interrogations to obtain a confession Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Conversion Searches Information can be gleaned from: (1)federal, state, and local agencies and other organizations (2)private sources of information (3)online sources of information (4)using the net worth method of analyzing spending information Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Conversion Searches Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Private Sources of Information q Utility records (gas, electric, water, garbage, and sewer q Private Acquaintances q “Trashing” q Shredded documents q Original files on computers Be sure you have the legal rights to gather and use the information Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

Online Databases q Accurint q Auto. Track. XP q Black Book Online q Choice. Point q EBSCO Publishing q Public. Data q Public Record Finder q SEC’s EDGAR Database q Web Detective Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

The Net Worth Method q Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth q Net Worth – Prior Year’s Net Worth = Net Worth Increase q Net Worth Increase + Living Expenses = Income q Income – Funds from Known Sources = Funds from Unknown Sources Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license

The Net Worth Asset Method Zimbelman, Albrecht, Albrecht © 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license