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Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management pp 1–6Cite as

Investigations: Fraud

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Definition

A fraud investigation is a thorough and objective, fact-gathering process conducted to determine whether or not a fraud-related crime was committed. Evidence is collected during this process to establish facts, inform findings, protect victims, and build a case which may potentially culminate in a criminal and/or civil action.

Introduction

Fraud investigations are a specific type of investigation conducted to determine whether a fraud-related crime was committed. Public attention to the phenomenon fraud investigations increased following a series of public company frauds in the early 2000s (Coenen 2009, xv). Many of those crimes are listed among the “Ten Biggest Frauds in Recent U.S. History” and include Enron in 2001, Tyco International and WorldCom in 2002, and HealthSouth in 2003 (Forbes 2017).

There are many different types of frauds in existence. Overall, there are types of frauds that can be perpetrated across several industries, such as check fraud, and frauds that...

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References

  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). (2014). Planning and conducting a fraud investigation. Fraud Examiners Manual.

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  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). (2018) “Fraud tree.” Available at: http://www.acfe.com/fraud-tree.aspx

  • Biegelman, M. T., & Biegelman, D. R. (2010). Foreign corrupt practices act compliance guidebook: Protecting your organization from bribery and corruption (Vol. 8). Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Coenen, T. L. (2009). Expert fraud investigation: A step-by-step guide. Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Forbes. (2017). “Our take on the ten biggest frauds in recent U.S. history.” Available at https://www.forbes.com/pictures/ghde45fli/our-take-on-the-10-bigge/#297a26e37e50

  • Giacalone, J. L. (2015). Four basic steps in a fraud investigation. Public Safety Briefing Room. Lexis Nexis.

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  • Johnston, J. B. (2007). Prosecuting government fraud despite the CSI effect: Getting the jury to follow the money. New England Law Review, 41(3), 563–574.

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  • Pedneault, S. (2009). Anatomy of a fraud investigation. Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Pedneault, S., Silverstone, H., Rudewicz, F., & Sheetz, M. (2012). Forensic accounting and fraud investigation for non-experts. Hoboken: Wiley.

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Future Readings

  • Pedneault, S. (2010). Anatomy of a fraud investigation: Fraud detection to prosecution. Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Petrucelli, P. R. (2013). Detecting fraud in organizations. Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Wells, J. T. (2014). Principles of fraud examination (4th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Wells, J. T. (2017). Corporate fraud handbook: Prevention and detection (5th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Chelsea A. Binns

Authors
  1. Chelsea A. Binns
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chelsea A. Binns .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Security, Fire & Emergency Mgmt, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA

    Lauren R. Shapiro

  2. Dept. of Security, Fire & Emergency Mgmt, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA

    Marie-Helen Maras

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Binns, C.A. (2019). Investigations: Fraud. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_24-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_24-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Investigations: Fraud
    Published:
    12 November 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_24-2

  2. Original

    Investigations: Fraud
    Published:
    24 August 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_24-1

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