Monday, December 2, 2013

Accounting Fraud with Richard Kuniansky


While the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 enacted post-Enron reforms, accounting fraud is still rampant in both public and private operations alike. In 2010 the executives at Lehman Bros. were accused of fraud, and the actions of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff were widely publicized. Healthcare South shareholders plan to finalize a settlement agreement in July 2010 against accounting firm Ernst & Young and Swiss bank, UBS AG, seeking restitution for their part in a multi-billion dollar accounting fraud scandal.

Allegations of accounting fraud may cause serious damage to the reputation of any corporation or business.  The majority of accounting fraud investigations stem from authorities pursuing a case where there is suspicion of corporate fraud and there are signs indicating that evidence of falsified statements, documents, and or transactions exist.  In many cases, federal prosecutors and investigators are involved when someone is suspected of accounting fraud. In these cases the federal prosecution often casts a wide net, bringing charges against persons who may not have had any prior knowledge of the deception.

The accounting practices of smaller businesses in regulated industries are also scrutinized in a manner once reserved for public companies.  What were once viewed as honest, innocent accounting errors can be lumped into an overly aggressive investigation by prosecutors and regulators and pursued as a potential violation of the criminal law.  These sorts of investigations often turn upon very specific and technical accounting practices and decisions.  If you are under investigation for allegations of deceptive accounting methods it is important to hire a white collar criminal defense attorney who is experienced in these complex cases.  

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