A former Bank of America executive, along with her husband and another person, have been accused of bank fraud for their alleged involvement in an embezzlement scheme that involved making millions of dollars of fake donations in the bank’s name. [More]
Crime & Fraud
White House Trying To Delay Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists Hired By Trump Administration
By 5.22.17
The executive branch’s Office of Government Ethics is trying to find out which of the many former lobbyists hired by the Trump administration may currently be working on issues on which they previously lobbied. However, the White House is delaying that inquiry, claiming the head of OGE may not have legal authority to make this request. [More]
NYC Landlords Busted For Renting Illegal Rooftop Shacks On Airbnb
By 5.18.17
If you see an Airbnb listing for a New York City apartment with rooftop views, be warned that you may be paying hundreds of dollars a night to stay in an illegally constructed shack underneath a bridge. [More]
Pizza Hut Worker Pepper-Sprayed Coworker In Dispute Over Toppings
By 5.18.17
We often hear of customers overreacting during conflicts with store employees and restaurant workers, but sometimes, even fast food coworkers turn on each other. [More]
Judge Says He May Have To Reject $142 Million Wells Fargo Fake Account Settlement
By 5.17.17
The federal court judge tasked with reviewing the pending $142 million settlement for the millions of fake accounts opened in customers’ names isn’t ready to rubber-stamp the deal. In fact, the judge’s questions about this settlement appear to indicate that he may reject the agreement. [More]
Man Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million Worth Of Bees
By 5.17.17
Maybe you weren’t aware, but bees are big business: With bee colonies mysteriously vanishing, hive owners can make a good income renting out their insects to farmers who need extra help with pollination. Those beekeepers will be happy to hear that authorities in California have busted a man suspected of stealing almost $1 million worth of bees and equipment. [More]
Man Behind $1.1M Home Depot Receipt Scam Gets Two-Year Prison Sentence
By 5.16.17
A Texas man who used Home Depot’s program for tax-exempt business purchases to scam more than $1.1 million from the retailer has been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to repay all his ill-gotten gains. [More]
Security Experts Think Massive Global Ransomware Outbreak May Be Linked To North Korea
By 5.16.17
A massive digital attack that swept the world late last week, holding computers and their data hostage for ransom, has largely petered out (for now). But as the crisis settles down, researchers are now able to take the time to start figuring out who started it all… and fingers are pointing at a familiar target. [More]
Study: Firing CEO May Be “Solution Of Choice” For Companies In Ethics Scandals
By 5.15.17
Not that long ago, when you saw a news story about a corporation doing something unethical — pollution, corruption, graft, fraud, to name just a few — you might holler “fire the CEO!” at the TV, but that was about as far as it got for many people; odds were you didn’t even know who that CEO was. Now, we not only have the CEO’s name and history at our fingertips, but also the means to repeat and amplify those calls for accountability, and a new study confirms that more top execs are indeed being fired for ethical concerns, even if it’s just to hold someone responsible. [More]
Supreme Court Throws Out State Rule Protecting Nursing Home Residents From Having Rights Signed Away
By 5.15.17
A lot of people in nursing homes have adult children or other trusted people with authority to make financial, legal, and medical decisions on their behalf. However, can folks with power of attorney also sign away someone else’s right to have their day in court? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, yes. [More]
Massive Ransomware Attack Has Slowed, But Probably Isn’t Over Forever
By 5.15.17
Ransomware — malicious software that encrypts your computer until you pay up — is, sadly, not new, but a recent, massive global attack on computer networks has pushed ransomware into the spotlight. While security researchers have figured out how to slow the havoc down, another wave of attacks seems likely. [More]
Total Number Of Bogus Wells Fargo Accounts Could Be As High As 3.5 Million
By 5.12.17
When Wells Fargo finally acknowledged what some had been alleging for years — that bank employees may have opened up fake, unauthorized accounts in customers’ names — it estimated the total number of bogus accounts at around 2.1 million. However, recently filed court documents contend that there could be as many as 1.4 million additional bogus accounts. [More]
Ransomware Attack Hitting FedEx, Hospitals, Utilities, And More In At Least 74 Countries
By 5.12.17
Security experts say that a cyberattack that first hit British hospitals, holding their computer networks hostage, has now spread beyond the U.K., targeting other healthcare facilities, shipping companies, and utilities, in a rapidly growing number of countries. [More]
Feds Launch Major Smackdown On ‘Tech Support’ Scams
By 5.12.17
If the world of scams was a wrestling ring, the Federal Trade Commission would be launching itself from the corner to deliver a world of hurt on tech support scammers who claim consumers’ computers are full of malware and other nasty stuff that can only be vanquished by paying them hundreds of dollars. [More]
Imposter Phone Scam Targeting Veterans Who Misdial The Number For Healthcare Program
By 5.12.17
It’s easy to accidentally hit a wrong number when dialing, and usually it doesn’t lead to anything worse than an awkward conversation if someone picks up. But the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is now warning against a scam aimed at people who misdial the number for a healthcare program for veterans. [More]
7 Things We Learned About The Thriving American Heroin Industry
By 5.12.17
The market for heroin is a robust one, and 2017 is shaping up to be the best year yet for the gangs and cartels who import and distribute the drug in the United States. The drug is now both inexpensive to make and more addictive, but this more potent heroin is also killing its users. [More]
Mom Says GameStop Sold Her A Used Copy Of Grand Theft Auto With Meth Inside
By 5.11.17
Grand Theft Auto is supposed to give players a taste of the underworld, but one mother says that the used copy that she bought for her son at GameStop went a little too far, with a small bag of methamphetamine inside the case. Now she’s warning other parents to check used video games for things that don’t belong in the cases. [More]
Ticket Brokers Must Pay $4.2M For Using Bots To Illegally Snatch Up Tickets
By 5.11.17
Have you wondered how ticket brokers are able to scoop up so many tickets so quickly while you hit “refresh” on your browser and resign yourself to sitting in the back row? They’re using automated “bots,” which are illegal in New York state. That’s why a handful of brokers have agreed to fork over millions of dollars to the state after being caught deploying ticket-buying bots and selling tickets without a license. [More]
