In a recent case reported in the press, Frenkels Forensics’ leading crime and fraud team were instructed by the Defendant’s legal advisors to analyse their client’s actions over a 15-year period. The Defendant, a trusted bookkeeper, had pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from her employer, but nobody had been able to get to the bottom of the sums involved. Using their forensic accountancy expertise and significant experience in crime and fraud matters, our crime and fraud accountants pinned down the true extent of the Defendant’s criminality, enabling her legal team to properly advise her.
The Defendant was employed as a bookkeeper by a small manufacturing business. Trusted implicitly by the business owner, she was given full access to the company’s bank accounts and Sage accounting software. Over a 15-year period, the Defendant consistently stole funds from her employer by temporarily substituting her own bank account details for those of legitimate suppliers. She would then process payments into her account before changing the bank details back.
An investigation by the business owner uncovered alleged fraud in the region of some £675,000. The matter was passed to the police, who used that figure in the criminal prosecution.
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The Defendant’s case was that while she accepted that she had taken money, the amount was significantly overstated. Her legal advisors called on our crime and fraud team to take a closer look at the figures so they could accurately advise their client on her potential liability.
How We Assisted In This Case
The scope of our analysis was vast, including Sage records, bank statements, electronic data, and detailed witness evidence. We undertook a systematic review of the employer’s own analysis and were able to establish that only approximately £530,000 of the theft he had identified could be supported. However, our work uncovered an additional £80,000 (separate to the alleged £675,000) that had been paid into the Defendant’s bank account for which we could find no legitimate source.
Armed with our findings, the Defendant’s legal team were able to give the necessary advice to their client and ultimately reach an agreement with the prosecution over the extent of the theft. The Judge used our analysis when considering the appropriate sentence to hand down. The Defendant was sentenced to 4 years.
Frenkels Forensics Chartered Accountants is a preeminent forensic accountancy firm with a Head Office in London and a network of offices around the UK. Our crime and fraud team are recognised leaders in the field, with a proven track record of uncovering information missed by others and unravelling complex financial data to quickly get to the heart of a matter.
In many cases, our work uncovers holes in the prosecution’s analysis and reduces the Defendant’s liability. In a few cases, it exposes more significant criminality. Either way, our primary goal is to enable the Defendant’s legal team to get to the truth and add real value to their advice.
Services We Offer
We offer a comprehensive range of forensic accountancy services in criminal or fraud cases, including the following:
- CPR-compliant reports.
- Desktop reports.
- Letters of advice.
- Data analysis.
- Computer forensics.
- Acting as expert witnesses.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss any criminal or fraud-related matter that you think we might be able to help with, please email us via our website link or call us on 0330 118 8200 and ask for Marc Clifton. We offer a free, no-obligation quote and will be delighted to talk the matter through with you. Alternatively contact us by making an Online Enquiry.
“Thank you ever so much for the work and advice you have provided . The report was clear and accessible and will not hesitate to recommend you all.”
“I am indebted to you for your contribution, and for explaining things in plain English such that even lawyers can understand the issues”
“May I take this opportunity to thank you for your assistance in this matter. Counsel and the judge said that your report was one of the best they had seen in that it was concise and technically easy to understand.”