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In a recent case undertaken by our industry leading crime and fraud team, our accountants’ experience and expertise enabled them to uncover the true extent of an employee’s theft after others had missed crucial data and information. The case highlights the value of the work carried out by our forensic accountants in the context of crime and fraud.

The Defendant was a cleaner employed at a motorway service station. As a long serving and trusted staff member, she was entrusted to collect cash from gambling terminals and record the takings. The terminals were leased to the Defendant’s employer, who paid the vendor a fixed fee and a percentage of the takings. The takings were reported electronically by the terminals directly to the vendors.

It transpired that the sums charged by the vendor did not tally with the cash takings recorded onsite. Initially, the difference was estimated to be around £81,000. When confronted with the findings, the Defendant admitted that she had stolen from the terminals but asserted that her theft was limited to £15,000 over a 12-month period.

The Defendant’s employer passed the matter to the Police, who opted not to commence their own investigation but to rely instead on the vendor’s calculations. After some adjustments, the Defendant was ultimately charged with a theft of £64,000.

Due to the depth and detail of the vendor’s analysis, the Defendant’s legal team instructed our crime and fraud team to assist them in understanding the true extent of their client’s theft so they could properly advise her.

We visited the vendor’s premises and met with their fraud investigator to gain a deeper understanding of their analysis and ascertain whether any of their assumptions or methods might be incorrect or open to misinterpretation.

Following the meeting, we analysed the vendor’s underlying material. In doing so, we verified the £64,000 figure set out in the indictment. Unfortunately, our investigations uncovered information that had previously gone unnoticed, which showed that the theft was more likely to be in the region of £115,000.

As our overriding duty is to the Court, we urgently contacted the Defendant’s solicitors to explain our findings. They were incredibly grateful for our input, which allowed them to advise their client with a complete understanding of the facts. The matter was subsequently resolved without the need for our further involvement.

Frenkels Forensics Chartered Accountants is a pre-eminent forensic accountancy firm with a Head Office in London, and a network of regional offices.

Our crime and fraud team is headed by our IT and data analysis expert, Marc Clifton. Marc couples his expertise in digital forensics with his forensic accountancy and financial analysis skills to add real value to our client’s cases. His team’s expertise frequently enables them to identify data and information overlooked by others, and which often proves crucial in unravelling the financial elements of crime and fraud matters.

We provide a full range of forensic accountancy services to support criminal or fraud cases, including the following:

• CPR-compliant reports.
• Desktop reports.
• Letters of advice.
• Data analysis.
• Computer forensics.
• Acting as expert witness.

If you would like to discuss any criminal or fraud-related matter that you think we might be able to help with, simply reply to this email or call us on 0330 118 8200 or Make An Online Enquiry. We offer a free, no-obligation quote and will be delighted to talk things through with you.

“I am sincerely grateful to you, you are worth your weight in gold!”

Solicitor

“I am indebted to you for your contribution, and for explaining things in plain English such that even lawyers can understand the issues”

Solicitor

“It was a pleasure working with you on what was a rather difficult case”

Solicitor