With increasing frequency; the news is reporting many new fraud investigations and cases. The positive side of these fraud reports shows that people are getting caught. Many times it takes years of fraudulent activity to occur before the individual is caught. Billions of dollars are lost by companies and individuals every year. However; in more recent years, companies and individuals are learning more about how and why fraud occurs. For a company; the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; has aided in the detection of fraudulent activity (Bumgardner, 2003). Also, in the event that fraud is suspected, forensic accountants and fraud examiners are utilized to create reports that defend the findings of fraudulent activity which in turn will help in the …show more content…
“Expert witnesses are often people who can offer opinions in court because of their unique experience, education, or training” (Albrecht, Albrecht, Albrecht, and Zimbelman, 2012, p. 631). Expert witnesses are not only utilized to testify at a trial, but are typically called upon during the discovery phase to study the evidence and read witness depositions (Kranacher, Riley, & Wells, 2011). Many create a written report on their opinions. Most expert witnesses in fraud case consist of fraud examiners or forensic accountants. The expert witness is deposed once the discovery phase is over. “During the deposition, a good expert takes a defensive posture by answering only the questions that are asked in the most abbreviated way possible” (Albrecht, Albrecht, Albrecht, & Zimbelman, 2012, p. 631). An expert witness needs to ensure that they never provide more information than what is being specifically asked. An expert witness should always be honest with their answers even if it is not what the individual asking the questions wants to hear (Silverstone, Sheetz, Pedneault, & Rudewicz, 2012). The expert witness will be examined at the trial by the attorney on their side first to determine their expert qualifications and questioned on their expert opinion of the fraud. The expert will then be cross-examined by the individual’s on the other side of the case. The information given during the trial can help either
More specifically, expert testimony is intended to assist jurors with their task of evaluating trial evidence by providing them with information that is not commonly known by laypeople but is relevant for making the decision confronting the jury (Neal and Kovera). Sometimes they may offer an opinion about a crucial issue in the case based on their specialized knowledge or skills. When testifying about their area of expertise or about the opinion that they have formed after reviewing case facts, “experts are essentially communicating information to the jury with the intent of influencing their decision in a case” (Neal and Kovera). Thus, in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, flawed expert testimony (fire investigator Vasquez and Fogg) could be easily construed as a persuasive message delivered to the jury. Sometimes the expert testimony may be flawed. Why? They misinterpreted and misunderstood the evidence. Generally, misinterpretation is a way causing wrongful conviction through the misuse of evidence. Misinterpretation of evidence refers to a failure to analyze or interpret evidence correctly, and thus, it may be misused (Ramsey). Correct analyzing and understanding of evidence needs expertise and skills. The misinterpretation could be unintentional or intentional (Ramsey). When misinterpretation happens, the
...xpert witnesses. Interviews and statements can be used in court if they are documented properly. The expert witness is used to support the evidence that has been obtained. These three things can preserve the discovery and support the case in court.
Throughout history there have been many white collar crimes. These crimes are defined as non-violent and financial-based crimes that are full ranges of fraud committed by business and government professionals. These crimes are not victimless nor unnoticed. A single scandal can destroy a company and can lose investors millions of dollars. Today, fraud schemes are more sophisticated than ever, and through studying: Enron, LIBOR, Albert Wiggan and Chase National Bank, Lehman Brothers and Madoff, we find how the culprits started there deception, the aftermath of the scandal and what our country has done to prevent future scandals.
Madura, Jeff. What Every Investor Needs to Know About Accounting Fraud. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 1-156
Worker's Compensation is a service that provides reimbursement for lost wages to employees who have sustained injuries from work or work-related tasks. It is also one of the services that is most often the victim of fraud. Each of the three types of fraud, claimant, employer, and provider, is defined by the same characteristics, outlined by the Ohio Board of Workers Compensation:
Jurors may spot a witness that is trying to fool them, and diligent cross-examination can be an especially effective tool for ferreting out lies. But, jurors will almost certainly not spot a witness who believes their statements are the truth, but has fooled themselves. When testimony is plausible, how can jurors tell whether it is true or false? Jurors should know the factors that impact eyewitness reliability so that they can make more informed decisions about the trustworthiness of such testimony. Moreover, jurors routinely attribute far greater weight to eyewitness testimony than is prudent, making expert testimony on the issue all the more critical. Louisiana is currently one of two states to apply a per se bar on admitting expert testimony to inform jurors of factors related to eyewitness reliability. This paper contends that expert testimony regarding eyewitness reliability (expert eyewitness testimony) is an effective way of improving jury determinations and should be admissible in Louisiana at the discretion of trial court judges for that
Defense experts are required to help the defense attorneys defend and breakdown all of the doubts in the prosecutors scientific findings in criminal cases. Scientific information is integral to a criminal prosecution, and a defense attorney needs to have an expert to assist he/she in discrediting the prosecution (Giannelli, 2011).
Fradella, H.F. (2006) Why judges should admit expert testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Federal Courts Law Review. Retrieved from http://www.fclr.org/fclr/articles/html/2006/fedctslrev3.pdf
Jury consultants are professional psychologists who work within the larger field of forensic psychology. The jobs that jury consultant have often include; studying human behavior, studying and analyzing mannerisms, analyzing verbal responses, analyzing nonverbal communications and body language, preparing reports, communicating with advising attorneys, making and defending decisions, and conducting mock trials. Juries are a group of people, so of course individual biases play a great role in their selection process. This does take a professional on human behavior to perceive what and how a promising jury may think and act. Most jury consultants have backgrounds in law and psychology. [Roufa, T. (n.d.)]. The main reason for hiring a jury consultant
Weld, L. G., Bergevin, P. M., & Magrath, L. (2004). Anatomy of a financial fraud. The CPA
In Anatomy of a Murder, there were four expert witnesses, Dr. Smith, Dr. Harcourt, Dr. Raschid, and Dr. Dompierre, who testified during the trial and gave their respected opinions based on their expertise about the evidence and stipulations raised. An expert witness is defined as a witness who has special knowledge or training in a specialized area (Gardner & Anderson, 2013, pg.123). The opinion of an expert witness may be admissible if the opinion is being given about a subject that can clear issues in the court. To determine whether or not the expert witness testimony is admissible, it must meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence 702-704. In addition to reviewing each of the three Federal Rules of Evidence, I reviewed each of the four expert witness testimonies and analyzed whether or not each testimony complied each Federal Rule of evidence.
The expert witness gains their knowledge through skill, training, education, and/or employment. Their particular knowledge would be something they can provide an opinion, evidence, or data that is beyond or exceeds the knowledge of other witnesses. In addition, the testimony of an expert witness access as a medium to educate the triers of fact (judge or jury) who may not be as knowledgeable or informed on the subject. An expert witness can be an oncologist, a medical biller & coder, ballistics, etc. (Cornell Law School, 2017)
The Hollate Manufacturing case provided by Anti-Fraud Collaboration has well illustrated how several common issues in an organization contributed to the fraud’s occurrence. These issues can be categorized into two major groups: ethical culture (internal aspect) and internal control system (external aspect). By taking effective actions to enhance these two aspects, an organization can protect itself against the largest frauds, which result in financial and reputational damage.
The principle territory we are planning to address is accounting fraud and how it could impact an organization by answering, the who, what, when and how. Its goal is to increase the awareness of accounting fraud and fraud counteraction. The intriguing thing about accounting fraud is that little disclosure as a rule usually leads to an enormous increase in fraud. A number of categories and sub-categories can be divided up for fraud.
In today’s day and age, there is a lot of news that is related to corporate accounting fraud as companies intentionally manipulate their financial statements to show a better picture of their financial health. The objective of financial reporting is to provide financial information about a company to its various stakeholders such as investors and creditors so that these stakeholders can make decisions accordingly. Companies can show a better image of their financial well being by providing misleading information. This can be done by omitting material information from the books or deceitful appropriation of assets such as inventory theft, payroll fraud, check forgery or embezzlement. Fraudulent financial reporting will have an effect on the This includes but is not limited to; check forgery, inventory theft, cash or check theft, payroll fraud or service theft.