SEMCACFE Newsletter
October 2016
VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I would like to thank our September speaker, Rhonda A. Warner CFE, Senior Investigator, Attorney Grievance Commission
for the her presentation “A License to Steal, The Red Flags of Attorney Fraud”. Her presentation was very interesting and
generated a number of interesting questions and comments from the chapter members present.
The implementation of our new meeting policy began with the September 2016 meeting. Our monthly chapter meetings are
open to anyone, who would like to attend. However, after two meetings you will be asked to join our chapter. Dues are
$50.00 per year to continue to pay the member price of $30.00 for the meeting and dinner. If you do not join, you are still
welcome to attend; however, you will be charged a dinner meeting fee of $40.00. Reminder will be noted in the monthly
newsletter.
The Southeast Michigan Chapter of Associated Certified Fraud Examiners is an exciting experience and continues to showcase knowledgeable speakers. Our group has outstanding people that attend our meetings and conference. Our meeting
and conference provide opportunities to gain relevant knowledge for professional and personal success as well as an opportunity to acquire needed hours of continuous education for various certifications.
September starts our year and your dues are due at this time. The dues are an integral part of the finances for the Chapter.
They assist the Chapter in presenting the quality monthly programs and the annual conference.
The Board is already working lining up speaker for the 23rd Annual Fraud Conference which will be held on April 27, 2017
at VisTaTech Center, Schoolcraft College in Livonia.
The Board is always interested in feedback and any ideas on how we can improve the Chapter. Please let us know if you
have a topic you would like or a speaker that would be interested in presenting at a monthly meeting. Thank you for your
continued support.
Tim Boyle,
Vice President
The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Together
with more than 75,000 members, the ACFE is reducing business fraud worldwide and inspiring public confidence in the
integrity and objectivity within the profession. Take advantage of networking and educational opportunities in your own
back yard by joining your local ACFE Chapter.
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CHAPTER MEETING
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Join us at
St. John Banquet and Conference Center
22001 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI
Speaker: Christine MacDonald,
Investigative Reporter, Detroit News
Presentation Topic:
Investigative Reporting: From Detroit’s Foreclosure Meltdown to Corruption Probes
Christine MacDonald is an investigative reporter recognized for her use of data technology presentation capability to
tell a story. Using Caspio’s online database helped her and colleague, Joel Kurth map out data in a way that spearheaded scrutiny and action, including attention from government officials. Follow the Money means follow the data,
always asking: What might it mean? Where else should we dig? How does its presentation impact the interpretation
of data?
Along with Detroit News’ Tom Gromak, Director of Digital Innovation, she helped spearhead the application of this
technology to reporting a complex, data-rich challenge involving millions of dollars. “Since 2005, more that 1-in-3 Detroit properties have been foreclosed because of mortgage defaults or unpaid taxes” beings their award winning report. Related data identifies that top lenders of foreclosed and blighted properties…and some of the sanctions
against their practices (though many have since disappeared as banks or lenders).
Other reporting led to FBI charges, a conviction, deeper digging into tax delinquent companies, and other corruption
and misspending probes.
Before joining the Detroit News in 2003, she was a reporter at Lansing State Journal since 1998. She received a
Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1998 from Michigan State University. In 2012 she was a recipient of the 2012
SPJ Detroit Journalist of the year from the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit.
RSVP to Mary Medonis
E-mail: [email protected]
Dinner prices : Members:$30, Students & Retirees: $25, 3rd time Guests $40
NOTICE: Our monthly meetings ar e open to anyone who would like to attend. However, after two meetings, you will be asked to
join our chapter. Dues are $50.00 per year in order to continue paying the member price of $30 for the meeting. If you choose not to
join, you are still welcome to attend but will be charged a dinner meeting fee of $40.00.
Reminder: To help minimize costs to our chapter, please notify us of any cancelations, prior to the meeting date.
The Southeast Michigan Chapter is working to increase our outreach and professional networking at colleges and universities as well as in
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our community. Join us as we relentlessly strive to promote fraud prevention and detection through educational training programs.
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September 2016 Chapter Meeting
Speaker:
Rhonda A. Warner, CFE
Senior Investigator
Attorney Grievance Commission
Topic:
“A License to Steal”
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September 2016 Chapter Meeting
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September 2016 Chapter Meeting
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Trending Fraud
Unidentified hackers have stolen EUR40m from German supplier Leoni's Romanian
subsidiary using only some cloned email accounts.
Leoni's financial director in Romania apparently wired the money into a bank account provided by the hackers via email as she
thought the emails came from her bosses in Germany, romania-insider.com reported. On 16 August, Leoni announced the loss of
EUR40m following fraudulent activities, which may have involved hackers. The stolen sum represents about half of the German
group's net profit and almost 1% of its turnover in 2015. However, nobody knew at that time that the fraud occurred at the group's
subsidiary in Romania, the report said.
"Leoni AG realized on Friday, 12 August, 2016, that it had become the victim of fraudulent activity with the help of falsified documents and identities and the use of electronic communication channels. As a result, company funds were transferred to accounts
abroad," the company said in a press release. The company didn't go into details about this massive fraud and said only that its
board had launched an investigation into the events and had also reported the matter to the police criminal investigators.
On the same day that Leoni made this announcement, the prosecutor's office within the Bistrita Court in Romania received a complaint about a EUR37m fraud from Leoni's subsidiary in Bistrita, in central Romania. As the damage was very big, the prosecutors
passed the case to the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). According to preliminary information, the fraud may have been coordinated by a group of hackers who cloned the email accounts of Leoni directors from Germany. They used those false email accounts and asked the financial director of the group's Romanian subsidiary to wire almost
EUR40m into a bank account.
According to romania-insider.com, the Leoni financial director in Romania apparently followed the company's internal protocol
and wired the money. The money went to a bank account in the Czech Republic, according to unofficial sources quoted by Adevarul.ro.
The hackers apparently knew the company's protocols, including the fact that directors in Germany had asked for money transfers
via email before. However, the investigators haven't yet determined if the Leoni financial director in Romania worked with the
hackers or simply followed what she thought were orders from the management in Germany.
Bistrita-based Leoni Wiring Systems Ro manages Leoni's whole operations in Romania. The German group opened its first factory
there in 2003, producing cables for car makers such as Mercedes and BMW. The group opened another factory in Bistrita last year.
Leoni has two other cable factories in Romania, one in Arad and the other one in Pitesti. Its local factories have over 12,700 employees and over EUR 530 million yearly revenues, according to official data from the finance ministry.
Leoni had over 74,000 employees in 32 countries and total sales of EUR4.5bn in 2015.
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Subject to Detention
It’s back to school time. Children and people of all ages are headed to learning institutions
across the nation to increase their knowledge, some more willingly than others. An article
published in The Annandale Patch tells about a man and a woman who were eager for
school to start, but for different reasons than you might expect. They posed as students attending four different community colleges in order to obtain approximately $67,000 in federal student aid.
The story provides details into the fraudulent escapades of two Louisiana residents—a man
and a woman—who used the stolen identities of four victims to accomplish their
scheme. (At the time their identities were used, three of the victims were in prison and one
was recovering from wounds sustained while deployed in Afghanistan.)
The two fraudsters used their victims’ names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers to
apply for financial aid at community colleges located in Virginia, Colorado, Oregon and
South Dakota. But for communication purposes, the two gave their own addresses, emails
and telephone numbers to make sure that inquiries from the Department of Education and
any of the four community colleges would be directed to them. (Recorded phone conversations involving the male fraudster revealed that he was impersonating his victims when calling for an update on financial aid from one of the learning institutions.) As a result, the two
pretend students were able to receive about $67,000 in federal student aid in the names of
their victims.
The 31-year-old man and 34-year-old woman both pleaded guilty to charges involving the
use of stolen identities to obtain federal student loans. They both face a minimum of two
years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy when sentenced.
Written by Larry Benson
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News and Member
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regarding upcoming events.
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2016 Officers & Directors
President
Barbara Netter, CFE
Vice President
Timothy Boyle, CFE
Secretary
Mike Ross, CFE
Treasurer
Mike Washenko, CFE
Director
Fannie Moore, CFE
Director
Jarriel “Jerry” Koplin, CFE
Director
Frank St Onge, CFE