Fraud and Manipulation of Expense Reports

A routine internal audit review at a Midwestern agricultural equipment manufacturer uncovered irregularities in the expense reports submitted by its salespeople. Axium conducted an extensive review of expense reports submitted by the company’s sales force and performed a forensic review of the computers and email of its salespeople. Axium also interviewed representatives of hotels and other vendors. Our investigation uncovered improprieties in expense reports submitted by numerous salespeople around the US spanning five years that included the creation of false hotel receipts and the manipulation of submitted airline fares. We also found that the fraudulent submissions were part of a collaborative effort among certain salespeople. The investigation culminated in a series of simultaneous confrontational interviews. Several employees were terminated and the matter was referred for criminal prosecution.