Crackdown on COVID frauds

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

In the last week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has cracked down on 3,195 individuals that have fraudulently obtained pandemic relief funds.

Questions:

  1. How much money are the arrests and pending investigations associated with?
  2. How many defendants are in organized crime?
  3. What was the most porous source of funds that were put into the economy?
  4. Why wasn’t there more accountability?

Source:

Fowle, D. (2023). Justice Department arrests nearly 3,200 for COVID relief-related fraud. Fox News, August 30 (Retrievable online at https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/justice-dept-arrests-nearly-3200-people-for-covid-related-fraud-murder-for-hire-plot-interrupted)

Would you Take a Chance on Fyre Festival 2?

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According to the New York Times, Billy McFarland is out of jail and selling tickets to Fyre Festival 2.

Questions:

  1. How long did McFarland serve for his role in organizing the Fyre Festival?
  2. Why was organizing a crime?
  3. What company did McFarland found and what did the company do?

Bernstein, J. (2022). Billy McFarland Is Out of Jail and Ready for His Next Move. The New York Times, September 14 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/10/fashion/billy-mcfarland-release.html)

Zahn, M. and L. Barr. (2023). Fyre Festival 2 tickets on sale and customers are buying, disgraced founder says. ABC News, August 23 (Retrievable online at https://abcnews.go.com/Business/fyre-festival-2-tickets-sale-customers-buying-disgraced/story)

Judge Vacates Conviction for Bribery Fraud Regarding Lucrative Rights To View Soccer Tournaments

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, Hernán López, a former Fox employee, and an Argentine sports marketing company had been convicted of participating in a bribery scheme to secure rights to widely viewed soccer tournaments. Now an acquittal.

Questions:

  1. Why were López and the Argentine sports marketing company acquitted?
  2. How many years was López facing?
  3. How many counts of money laundering was the marketing firm Full Play Group facing?
  4. Are others in related cases seeking acquittal?

Meko, H. and K. Bensinger. (2023). Judge Vacates Convictions in Bribery Case Over Soccer Broadcast Deals. The New York Times, Sep. 2 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/02/nyregion/fox-employee-soccer-deal-bribes.html)

Rite Aid – A Rocky Road Ahead

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According to CNN, Rite Aid shares slid lower as the pharmacy chain prepared bankruptcy filings this week while dealing with lawsuits over the sale of opioids.

Questions:

  1. What was the new all-time low stock price?
  2. How many stores does Rite Aid have?
  3. Under what Act is the Department of Justice going after the chain?
  4. What is the chain’s current debt due to these legal issues?

Source:

Goodkind, R. (2023) Rite Aid stock is experiencing extreme turbulence: Here’s why. CNN, August 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/investing/rite-aid-stock-bankruptcy/index.html)

The Highest Paid Medical Doctors are in the Dakotas. Why?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the Washington Post, there is an interesting phenomenon about the location of the highest paid medical doctors.

Questions:

  1. What is the average income of medical doctors in their prime earning years?
  2. In comparison, what is the average income of attorneys in their prime earning years?
  3. What is the one word that helps explain the unusual geographic trend explained in this article?
  4. What do Medicaid and Medicare have to do with this trend?
  5. What do the distribution of residencies have to do with this trend?
  6. What did you find to be the most interesting about this article and the trends explained?

Source:

Van Dam, A. (2023). The real reason the highest-paid doctors are in the Dakotas. The Washington Post, Aug. 11 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/11/doctor-pay-geography/)

It’s Called the “Urban Doom-Loop”

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With more people working remotely, companies are rethinking their plans to sign leases on business buildings in downtown areas all over the U.S.

Questions:

  1. What does this void of businesses cause?
  2. What cities are behind schedule on the highest percentage of loan payments on office buildings?
  3. What large cities depend on property tax revenue and what large cities depend on commuter wage taxes?
  4. Is the doom loop inevitable? Discuss.

Source:

Siegel, R. (2023). How the ‘urban doom loop’ could pose the next economic threat. The Washington Post, Aug. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/28/commercial-real-estate-economy-urban-doom-loop/)

Great News for Accounting Students and Graduates!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to Accounting Today, less than one percent of firms can find enough accounting staff.

Questions:

  1. What are the kinds of changes they are making to find staff?
  2. According to the survey, what changes are happening with CPA firm leaders?
  3. What are the trends with starting salaries at CPA firms?

Source:

Cohn, M. (2023) Less than 1% of firms can find enough staff. Accounting Today, Aug. 2 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/less-than-1-of-accounting-firms-can-find-enough-staff?)

Ponzi Schemer Resurfaces

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According to the New York Post, a Colorado conman who escaped from a federal prison in Colorado in 2018 was rearrested in Florida, living in a luxurious $1.5 million mansion.

Questions:

  1. How was he found?
  2. How much had he stolen from his original Ponzi scheme?
  3. How did this man commit fraud even behind bars?

Source:

Reyes, R. (2023) Colorado conman who escaped fed prison caught living lavishly in $1.5M Florida mansion. The New York Post, Aug. 3 (Retrievable online https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/colorado-conman-who-escaped-fed-prison-caught-living-lavishly-in-1-5m-florida-mansion).

Albemarle purports to have violated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

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According to the Wall Street Journal, well-known chemical manufacturer, Albemarle, reached an agreement in principle with U.S. authorities to pay a $218.5 million fine to resolve an investigation into potential improper payments by third-party sales representatives.

Questions:

  1. Although Albemarle started as a paper mill in 1887, what is its major production now?
  2. Where is Albemarle located?
  3. What will be the sanctions or requirements for this violation besides the fine?
  4. What is the FCPA?

Source:

Tokar, D. (2023). Albemarle to Pay $218.5 Million to Settle Foreign Bribery Probe. The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 3. (Retrievable online at https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/albemarle-to-pay-218-5-million-to-settle-foreign-bribery-probe)

Fraudster’s Home Depot Scam Snagged!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the Associated Press, a Connecticut man was given nearly $300,000 in fraudulent Home Depot credit by walking into stores in several states, loading expensive doors into a lumber cart in one department of the store and then returning them to the customer returns department of the same store without a receipt.

Questions:

  1. What would the man do if the credit was denied?
  2. How many fraudulent store credits did the man receive between June 2021 and February 2022?
  3. Since Home Depot requires a valid driver’s license when returning without a receipt, how did the man get so many credits on non-receipt merchandise with his license?
  4. What internal control or policy would have prevented the extent of this crime?

Source:

Staff. (2023). Man is charged with cheating Home Depot stores out of $300,000 with door-return scam. The Associated Press, August 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man-is-charged-with-cheating-home-depot-stores-out-of-300-000-with-door-return-scam).