Financial Fraud

Tax evasion is an illegal act where a person deliberately avoids paying for a tax liability. To willfully fail to pay taxes is a federal crime and those caught are usually subject to criminal charges and penalties.

Identity theft is a crime that occurs when a criminal steals your personal information and credentials to commit fraud, which is usually financial in nature. This type of crime is committed in many ways and its victims are often left with damage to their credit, finances, and reputation.

A forensic audit uses accounting methods to examine a company's or individual's financial records to find evidence to use in legal proceedings including criminal charges, divorces, and bankruptcy filings. Performing an audit requires expert knowledge of the legal framework.

The Panama Papers was a leak of 11.5 million encrypted confidential documents that were the property of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents exposed a network of more than 214,000 tax havens involving companies and people from 200 countries.

The LIBOR Scandal was a scheme in which bankers at major financial institutions such as possibly Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Chase colluded to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The scandal led to a wave of fines, lawsuits, regulatory actions, and LIBOR being phased out by June 30, 2023.

Spoofing is a scam in which a criminal disguises an email address, name, phone number, text message, or website URL to convince a person they are interacting with a trusted source. Always be skeptical of requests for personal information or downloading files. Be sure to install reputable antivirus and antimalware software.