Description: The self-checkout may be in a bit of trouble as some retailers are reconsidering the future of this mode. Increased losses due to shoplifting is certainly a factor for retailers to consider. Adrian Beck of the University of Leicester has studied self-checkouts for over ten years, and he notes they may account for one… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried Guilty
Description: Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty of fraud for his actions around cryptocurrency company FTX. The jury deliberated for three days after a trial that lasted about a month. U.S. attorney Danielle Sassoon characterized Bankman-Fried as using customers money as a “personal piggy bank.” For his part, Bankman-Fried testified in his own defence that… Read more »
The Underground Economy
Description: Statistics Canada reported last week that it estimates Canada’s underground economy was approximately $70 billion in 2021. This unreported activity was up about five percent over 2020. The largest components of the underground economy are residential construction, at 35 percent, followed by real estate rentals at 12.7 percent and retail at 10.5 percent. Statistics… Read more »
A Big Covid Relief Fraud
Description: A Florida man has been sentenced to over 7 years in prison for a $2.6 million fraud on 3 different U.S. federal Covid-19 relief programs. Daniel Joseph Tisone provided false information to support a variety of applications for loans designed to assist business in the SARS-Cov-2 crisis. While the programs were intended to support… Read more »
Watch Out for Gift Card Scam
Description: Well, you have to give marks for ingenuity, even though the results are unpleasant. Thieves have figured out a new scam in which they adhere a barcode for a card they already own to the back of a card sitting among the gift cards at a retailer. So you may think you are picking… Read more »
That’s a Big Fraud Doc!
Description: An Alberta physician, Dr. Yifei Shi, has been convicted in what has been called the largest doctor billing fraud in the province’s history. In addition to a four-year prison term, Dr. Shi will have to repay $827,077 to the province. Dr. Shi will also face scrutiny from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of… Read more »
The Cupcake Fraud?
Description: While delivering a verdict in a tax fraud case on Thursday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Robin Gogan said “What was being baked here was a scam of epic portions.” Four women from Cape Breton were found guilty of fraud and a variety of violations under the Excise Tax Act. The scheme consisted of… Read more »
Hard to Trust?
Description: Suzanne Bergeron Stonehouse said “You just want to scream,” after she found out that Georges ‘Tiger’ Samman was handing out thousands of dollars to truckers participating in the protest in Ottawa. She and her husband have been trying for months to recover thousands of dollars they had paid on deposit to a contractor that… Read more »
Golfing with the Vendors?
Description: If you’re working for the City of Hamilton, watch out if you are getting too chummy with city suppliers out on the golf course. City Auditor Charles Brown’s latest fraud and waste report noted that two city employees were hanging out on the golf course during working hours with a vendor who was pursuing… Read more »
Let CRA Do Your Taxes?
Description: The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had said they would make income tax preparation easier for Canadians. Globe and Mail columnist Rita Trichur has noted an inconsistency in the plan though: CRA has doubled the size of the form from four to eight pages. As she says, “Folks, it’s hard to know whether to laugh… Read more »