Another high profile case involving false invoicing has come to light in Australia
Bank retains $1m of Seven employee John Michael Fitzgerald’s funds following fraud
A senior employee of the Seven Network who has admitted to defrauding the company by falsifying invoices has agreed to a freezing order over his assets.
The broadcaster sought and won an injunction to freeze the assets of John Michael Fitzgerald in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
Mr Fitzgerald, 54, was the network’s commercial manager of programming. He has been suspended from duties.
The amount of money Seven is seeking to recover has been redacted in court documents….
Source : Sydney Morning Herald 14
Other recent high profile cases of false invoicing
Other recent high profile cases involving false invoicing in 2016 have included:
- Former Victorian Liberal Party Director Damien Mantach – http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/damien-mantach-no-liberal-party-oversight-court-documents/7180348
- Alleged fake invoices to Botany Bay Council scrutinised by ICAC – http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/alleged-fake-invoices-to-botany-bay-council-scrutinised-by-icac-20160302-gn8ck1.html#ixzz45lrHI1gS
Incidence of false invoicing in Australian organisations
Warfield & Associates’ 2012 research white paper ‘Million Dollar Employee Fraud in Australia’, identified false invoicing as the 4th most prevalent type of fraud, which averaged $4.6 million per incident.
In our experience, false invoicing is one of the most prevalent and costly frauds perpetrated on Australian businesses. Our many investigations have identified the lack of internal controls in the processes for receiving, approving and paying invoices that later prove to be fraudulent. If your organisation has an issue with false invoicing or wants some assurance as to its processes, feel free to contact Warfield & Associates for further information.