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Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 4 October 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years’ jail over crypto fraud – 25 September 2024
Caroline Ellison has been sentenced to two years in jail for her involvement in her ex-boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried’s theft of $US8 billion in customer funds. The tech executive ran Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund Bankman-Fried founded. Lawyers argued against jail time due to her “extraordinary” cooperation with prosecutors and role as star witness in Bankman-Fried’s case.
Services Australia data breaches surge as scammers try to hack customer accounts using stolen details – 29 September 2024
Services Australia has seen a massive surge in data breaches by scammers harvesting information from previous hacks and using it to access customer account., Services Australia had reported 49 data breaches as a result of social engineering – where people call an agency pretending to be someone in order to access information. The figure was more than 440% higher than the nine social engineering-related reports across the whole of 2023.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/29/services-australia-hacks-data-breach-scam
Journalist awarded for work on human trafficking in online scams arrested in Cambodia – 1 October 2024
Cambodian journalist Mech Dara, who has been awarded for his work investigating human trafficking in the online scam industry, has been arrested by the country’s military police. The police have refused to reveal why he was taken into custody with observers saying they believe the arrest was politically motivated. Dara’s family say they have not been informed of his whereabouts and fear for his safety.
Fraud allegations involving Tara bushfire and Cyclone Jasper disaster funding referred to police – 2 October 2024
Several staff have been terminated or suspended from a Queensland government department after fraud allegations. It’s believed the allegations relate to funding given after Cyclone Jasper and the Tara bushfires in 2023. Two cases of alleged fraud have been referred to police for investigation.
Fraudster Patricia Evans, who swindled elderly victims of savings and super, jailed over ‘web of deceit’ – 2 October 2024
Patricia Evans was sentenced in SA’s District Court after pleading guilty to two counts of theft and 19 counts of aggravated theft between May 2010 and August 2018. The sentencing judge said Evans had stolen up to $4.2 million from three victims — but said the charges before the court only related to a total of $272,463. Evans was sentenced to eight years and four months behind bars, with a non-parole period of five years.
Meta, Australian banks tout progress on taking down scam ads – 3 October 2024
Meta has taken down some 8000 so-called “celeb bait” scam ads from Facebook and Instagram as part of a new effort with Australian banks to curb the practice. The scams use images of famous people, often generated by artificial intelligence, to trick consumers into giving money to non-existent investment schemes.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/meta-australian-banks-tout-progress-on-taking-down-scam-ads-612119
Vitrinite accused of clearing koala habitat and illegal coal mining in Queensland – 3 October 2024
A mining company has been accused of destroying koala habitat and illegally mining coal at a site in Queensland, without government approval. Vitrinite denies breaching the law and says the works are a “small testing operation”. The federal environment department is “making enquiries”, with the allegation, if proven, carrying a possible $825,000 fine.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/koala-habitat-cleared-without-federal-approval/104414272
Trump ‘resorted to crimes’ in scramble to overturn US election, unsealed court documents allege – 3 October 2024
New details of Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election have been revealed in a newly unsealed court filing. The 165-page document cites previously unknown accounts by the former president’s closest aides. It is uncertain whether the case will proceed to trial, particularly if Trump is elected president in November.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/trump-election-interference-filing-unsealed/104426280
Experts say scammers are getting a leg-up from the system that serves us personalised ads – 3 October 2024
The online ad industry may be providing scammers with the tools to target Australians more efficiently. A new report reveals how the sale of people’s consumer data could be fuelling common scams featuring fake road toll notices or texts purporting to be from AusPost. The federal government is in the process of updating the Privacy Act, but changes to data privacy rules have been deferred until a later, unspecified, date.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/scammers-using-system-for-ads-to-con-australians/104426750
Karen Salkilld faked her own death to claim $700k life insurance payout, Perth court hears – 4 October 2024
Karen Salkilld faked her own death, using her former partner’s identification, to successfully claim a $718,000 insurance payout. Her lawyer told the court the “crazy act” of faking her own death came from a movie she had once seen. Salkilld was told to expect an immediate jail term when sentenced later this month.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years in prison for 2020 presidential race voting data scheme – 4 October 2024
A former Colorado county clerk has been sentenced to nine years in jail for charges relating to a breach in her county’s voting system. Tina Peters became “fixated” on voting problems after becoming involved with those who had questioned the accuracy of the 2020 presidential election results. She was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.
NSW premier says commissioner will commit to reforming police culture after ‘harrowing’ allegations – 29 September 2024
NSW Premier Chris Minns has addressed “harrowing” allegations about the state police force following an ABC investigation.
Former and current NSW Police officers said they had experienced bullying, nepotism, sexism and a lack of mental health support. Mr Minns said NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb was committed to reform, but did not commit to an independent inquiry.
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 27 September 2024
Canberra woman scammed out of $1.6 million inheritance adding firepower to federal scam protections campaign – 18 September 2024
Canberran Harriet Spring, who was scammed out of $1.6 million, has taken her fight for better scam victim financial compensation to Parliament House. The federal government’s new draft legislation would put in place new rules about detecting, preventing and responding to scams. Online consultation for the draft anti-scam laws is open until October 4.
MLA calls for parliamentary inquiry into NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption – 20 September 2024
An independent MLA will call for a parliamentary inquiry into the NT’s corruption watchdog when the legislative assembly resumes next month. The NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has faced a series of scandals since it was formed in 2018. The proposed inquiry will need the support of the new Country Liberal Party government if it is to be established.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-20/mla-calls-for-parliamentary-inquiry-into-nt-icac/104378554
Singapore ex-minister convicted in rare graft trial – 25 September 2024
S. Iswaran, a Singaporean former minister has been convicted of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts. He has been hit with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world’s least corrupt.
IBAC report finds Metropolitan Fire Brigade employees improperly accessed executive emails to help union – 25 September 2024
An anti-corruption investigation has found Victorian fire service employees repeatedly accessed sensitive information and fed it to the powerful United Firefighters Union (UFU). IBAC has today released the findings of a long-running probe named Operation Turton, which asks Fire Rescue to report on how it’s implementing its recommendations within six months.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-25/ibac-mfb-ufu-peter-marshall-operation-turton/104394046
NSW premier says commissioner will commit to reforming police culture after ‘harrowing’ allegations – 26 September 2024
NSW Premier Chris Minns has addressed “harrowing” allegations about the state police force following an ABC investigation.
Former and current NSW Police officers said they had experienced bullying, nepotism, sexism and a lack of mental health support.
Mr Minns said NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb was committed to reform, but did not commit to an independent inquiry.
Queensland man charged over alleged phishing scam, sending millions of texts – 26 September 2024
A North Queensland man has been charged over an alleged phishing scam involving millions of fake text messages. Police say they seized more than 1,200 SIM cards and equipment capable of sending mass messages. The man has appeared in court and was remanded in custody.
Queensland Fire Department commissioner calls for end of bullying and harassment within organisation in leaked video – 26 September 2024
A leaked video shows QFD Commissioner Stephen Smith asking for service members to call out bullying and harassment. It comes in the wake of ABC reporting on cultural issues within the department. The department says the findings of a review into its complaints management framework are imminent.
New York Mayor Eric Adams charged on five criminal counts in ‘multi-year’ Turkish bribery and fraud scheme – 27 September 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been implicated in a bribery and fraud scheme, becoming the first of the city’s 110 mayors to be criminally charged while in office.
The 64-year-old Democrat has denied wrongdoing and said he would “continue to do my job” while fighting the charges in court. Mr Adams faces a 57-page indictment and the case is likely to complicate any bid for re-election next year.
Relative of OMCG member is third woman jailed in WA over illicit cash investigation – 27 September 2024
The West Australian sister of an offshore Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member has been sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of seven and a half months, for possessing more than $800,000 of suspected proceeds of crime. She is the third woman to be convicted over the matter.
Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell has been found guilty of theft and dishonesty — what happens now? – 27 September 2024
After a three-month trial, and years facing and fighting charges, Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell was found guilty, by a jury, of 20 counts of theft and five counts of dishonest dealing with documents. In the seven years since he was accused of stealing $430,000 from not-for-profit educational organisations.
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 13 September 2024
China gives PwC record £47m fine and six-month ban over Evergrande – 13 September 2024
The China arm of the accountancy firm PwC has been banned for six months and fined a record 441m yuan (£47m) over its audit of the collapsed property developer Evergrande. It was found that PwC and its Guangzhou branch knew that there were major misstatements in Evergrande Real Estate’s financial statements during the audit of Evergrande Real Estate’s financial statements and issued inappropriate audit opinions, and issued false audit reports.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/13/china-pwc-47m-fine-six-month-ban-evergrande-audit
Former department bosses Kathryn Campbell and Renee Leon named for breaching duties in relation to Robodebt – 13 September 2024
The robodebt scheme was an automated tool for assessing and recovering Centrelink debts. Sixteen public servants were referred to the public service commissioner for investigation last year, including current employees named in the sealed section of the robodebt royal commission’s final report. The commission reported “12 current and former public servants and former agency heads have been found to have breached the code on 97 occasions”.
Indian families are falling for multi-million-dollar Australian visa scams – 16 September 2024
New rules introduced by the Government last year aimed to stop visa fraud but instead these changes may have fuelled a surge in unethical practices. This investigation reveals how opportunistic agents in India are using an Australian college to scam students out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The killing of underworld figure Alen Moradian raises difficult questions about how police fight a gangland war – 16 September 2024
The killing of underworld figure Alen Moradian, raises troubling questions about law enforcement’s role in Australia’s ongoing gang wars: should police intervene to save a life, or wait and gather more evidence on significant criminal networks? The rules and protocols are not clear. Those who watch this world closely say that must change.
Criminal elements still influential in CFMEU construction division, report finds – 16 September 2024
A preliminary investigation into the CFMEU’s construction division has found it is still influenced by bikies and attempts to remove criminal elements were “inadequate”.
The investigation by Geoffrey Watson SC found the union was “caught up in a cycle of lawlessness”. Mr Watson recommended the CFMEU work with police to root out criminal elements.
Former Department of Communities project manager Mark Ainslie jailed over cash-for-contracts scheme – 17 September 2024
Mark Ainslie was a former project manager with the Department of Communities when he took more than $200,000 in bribes to award lucrative construction contracts to his associates. His offences spanned five years before he quit the department in 2020. Ainslie was sentenced to more than four years’ jail, and will be eligible for parole in April 2027.
Revealed: criminals and unlicensed agents operating across Australia’s real estate sector – 17 September 2024
Transparency International Australia says international regulators and the federal government have ‘clearly identified real estate as being at very high risk of money laundering involving organised crime gangs’. Revelations come amid federal government push for additional scrutiny of sector through counter-terror financing and money-laundering laws.
AML/CTF Amendment Bill: A significant development to combating financial crime – 17 September 2024
On 11 September 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill) was introduced into Parliament, a significant development in Australia’s approach to combating financial crime. The Bill represents the long-awaited ‘second tranche’ of reforms to Australia’s anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime, which was initially established under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (the Act).
How the AFP cracked an encrypted messaging app used by the criminal underworld – 18 September 2024
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-18/how-the-afp-cracked-an-encrypted-messaging-app/104368364
Operation Kraken: AFP restrains almost $2 million in assets in WA investigation
In a pre-dawn raid as part of Operation Kraken, the AFP targeted a 32-year-old man police allege is the mastermind of an encrypted communication network used solely by the criminal underworld called ‘Ghost’. The AFP will be alleging that this platform is solely being used for criminality and serious organised crime, drug trafficking, drug importation, tobacco trafficking, firearms trafficking, money laundering, and threats to life and to harm.
Two Victorian men fined $4000 each for betting on the Australian of the Year awards using inside information – 19 September 2024
Two Victorian men were sentenced by the Dandenong Magistrates Court for using inside information to bet on the winner of three Australian of the Year Award. They were charged in June 2023 as part of Operation Maridun, an AFP-led multi-agency investigation into irregular betting on the awards.
Third Person Charged in Multimillion Dollar Fraud Case – 20 September 2024
Financial Crimes Squad detectives have charged a third man for his alleged role in a $10 million financing fraud targeting a Sydney automotive group. The investigation found that the syndicate was allegedly using the stolen personal information of more than 33 people to apply for loans through various financial companies to purchase luxury cars that did not exist.
https://www.miragenews.com/third-person-charged-in-multimillion-dollar-1320734/
Investigation & Fraud News – Week ending 13 September 2024
Former ATSIC head Geoff Clark found guilty of fraud – 11 September 2024
Geoff Clark has faced a series of trials over long-running allegations of fraud, relating to about $1 million illegally obtained from his community’s Aboriginal trust. Three juries across four trials found the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) head, guilty of 25 charges. Clark will attend a further hearing ahead of sentencing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-04/former-atsic-head-geoff-clark-found-guilty-fraud/104308834
Correlation between money laundering and organised crime under the spotlight – 11 September 2024
The latest research conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) shows the close link between organised crime and money laundering and the implications it has on Australian society. The research has found that when organised crime groups have “professional facilitators,” such as lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents, there is an increased likelihood for them to be involved in money laundering and there are usually greater sums of money at play. https://lsj.com.au/articles/correlation-between-money-laundering-and-organised-crime-under-the-spotlight/
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-australian-money-laundering-crime.html
Payment gateway data breach affects 1.7 million credit card owners – 11 September 2024
Payment gateway provider Slim CD, has disclosed a data breach that compromised credit card and personal data belonging to almost 1.7 million individuals. In the notification sent to impacted clients, the company says that hackers had access to its network for nearly a year, between August 2023 and June 2024.
Financial crimes in the Vatican remain unpunished – 11 September 2024
In December 2023, the first cardinal ever to face a criminal trial in the Vatican was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to a hefty term in prison. Nine other officials were found guilty of a smorgasbord of financial crimes after investigations revealed infighting, intrigue and theft on an enormous scale. But no one is yet behind bars.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/vatican-politics/104329988
Paul Montgomery stole millions from the Gurney family business. He was known in the racing industry as ‘The Golden Goose’ – 10 September 2024
Paul Montgomery was entrusted with looking after the Gurney’s family finances. Tensions began to build between the brothers over where the money was going and a legal dispute led to a forensic accountant being called. He uncovered large transfers from business accounts to personal accounts belonging to Paul Montgomery. Montgomery’s personal credit card was then being used to deposit large sums of money into betting agency accounts. In total, it was 17 different betting agency payments totalling over $11.5 million.
‘Long overdue’ financial crime laws needed to close regulatory gap – 11 September 2024
Mark Dreyfus says reforms to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime will align the national framework with international standards. Many of the crimes these reforms targeted would stop perpetrators profiting from drug trafficking, tax evasion, cybercrime, human trafficking and arms trafficking.
Australia introduces new hate crime and anti-doxxing legislation amid rising antisemitism – 12 September 2024
Australia’s government has introduced new legislation to combat hate crimes and doxxing, with severe penalties for offenders. The move comes in response to a rise in antisemitic incidents and would impose criminal penalties, including jail, for offenders if they targeted a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation.
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-819799
Vietnamese men sentenced for role in cultivating $30 million cannabis crop – 12 September 2024
Four Vietnamese-born men have been sentenced for being involved in a criminal gang and for cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis. The men were arrested when police raided a remote property in northern New South Wales in November 2022. Three of them will serve their sentence in the community, while the fourth faces deportation once released from jail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/cannabis-operation-sentencing-drug-law-court/104328668
Australian military officers to be stripped of honours after alleged war crimes under their command – 12 September 2024
The Australian government has decided to cancel the awards and honours of a small group of former military officers, who held command positions at the time that others under their command were accused of war crimes. Maj Gen Paul Brereton, who led a four-year-long inquiry that presented its findings in 2020, found “credible” information to implicate 25 current or former Australian special forces personnel in the alleged unlawful killing of 39 individuals and the cruel treatment of two others in Afghanistan.
Tech giants, banks and telcos to face massive fines and compensation for failing to protect scam victims under new laws – 13 September 2024
Australian businesses may soon have to comply with new mandatory codes which will put in place new rules about detecting, preventing and responding to scams. The codes will apply to banks, telcos and tech giants. The federal government has released draft legislation for consultation and aims to introduce the news laws later this year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/banks-telcos-social-media-fines-scams-code/104346234
Robodebt public servants breached code – 13 September 2024
A new report into the illegal robodebt scheme has found that twelve public servants, including former department heads breached their code of conduct 97 times.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/robodebt-public-servants-breached-code/104348472
