Enemy within revealed by fall in large fraud cases

A DROP in the number of “super-cases” involving significant sums of money has led to a major decline in the value of frauds committed in the region.

A new study by KPMG found that although the number of significant fraud cases committed in the first six months  of 2012 remained steady at 17 (2011: 16), the value of frauds dropped to just £11.7m (£75.6m).

The main high-profile cases during the period included a Blackburn-based platinum-trading gang who defrauded HMRC out of £5m via a two-year VAT scam; five householders from Rochdale who fraudulently received more than £1.3m in mortgages after lying about their incomes; a trio from Burnley who embarked on a £1m property scam and a Merseyside gang who masterminded a £600,000 counterfeit cash conspiracy.

The study also found that almost two-thirds of business fraud is committed by people from within organisations, with management teams the single-biggest perpetrators.

Martin Dougall, head of forensic accounting for KPMG in the North, said: “The extent and impact of fraud perpetrated from within businesses has historically been masked by a handful of exceptionally large cases coming to court, but the fall in such ‘super’ cases now shines a spotlight on the chronic and pernicious threat to businesses in these austere times.”