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Fraud Investigation There are 2 replies: View/Reply options

Courtney Brooke Laramore Students

Fraud Investigation Original post: Tue 2/2/2016 at 3:11 PM

When conducting a fraud investigation it is best to keep the investigation as tight and secret as is legally allowed. One does not want an employee (and especially if they are guilty) to get wind of an investigation or it will give them time to clean up their mess or even create their story of how they will justify it. I was involved in a fraud investigation at my place of employment and all records were very clear and cut on what happened and the employees were not notified until they were terminated. This was the best way to handle the situation because if they had heard about the investigation they would have tried to cover up what they had fraudulently claimed. It can also make a person very angry if they are accused of fraud and there are no findings. By making the investigation as quiet as possible you also avoid losing a good employee.

Jennifer Grisham Students

Re: Fraud Investigation Posted: Tue 2/2/2016 at 6:52 PM, in reply to Courtney Brooke Laramore

Courtney, you make a good point about accusing someone prior to having all of the facts of the investigation. A boss could inadvertently create a hostile working environment and end up losing one or more good employees by making accusations without any facts to back them up. When I was an auditor for the corporate office of a retail farm & home store, my boss and our director were working on a huge employee theft case. One employee was adamant that her involvement was coerced by the store manager (if I remember correctly, he was the ringleader). She was so angry and upset she was part of the investigation she sued the company. Unfortunately, I took a position with another company before the case was finished so I don't know what happened.

Gretchen Kristine Winchester Students

Re: Fraud Investigation Posted: Fri 2/5/2016 at 3:28 PM, in reply to Courtney Brooke Laramore

Very nice post. Your reasons are well thought out and I like that you were able to use one of your experiences to follow up your thoughts of keeping an investigation secret. Not causing an uproar and starting sudden rumors and finger pointing throughout an office also shows professionalism as a company should want to quietly and quickly get the facts that they need to prove the occurrence of fraud so they can then let the suspected employee go.