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Get Ready to Put Jeff Skilling Back on Your Christmas Card List

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Maybe not Christmas 2013, but some Christmas in the not so distant future:

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who is serving a 24-year prison term for his role in the energy giant's epic collapse, could get out of prison early under an agreement being discussed by his attorneys and the Justice Department, CNBC has learned. Skilling, who was convicted in 2006 of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading, has served just over six years. It is not clear how much his sentence would be shortened under the deal. 
 
Image source: Wikipedia

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Because the Other Option was to Start Hocking the Stanford Financial Shwag Received for Opening a New Account

r.jpgYour latest bit of hilarity regarding the Stanford Ponzi Party is that a group of plaintiffs is suing the government of Antigua and Barbuda for $24 billion because the island was allegedly a “full financial partner in the fraud”.
Alphaville isn’t buying it, and they not so accidently, put “Fraud Victims” in quotations which we find hilarious because it almost appears that Alphaville isn’t even buying the “victims” angle as so much as they’re buying the “morons” angle.
The post goes on to inform us that “$24bn is also 24 times Antigua’s 2008 GDP“. Which moves this particular case from the “frivolous” category to the “downright idiotic” category.
Nevertheless, one might conclude that any or all of the following is what got this thing off the ground:
1. Big Al is pulling the strings from jail in order to pay for his defense because, as we learned, he’s got no legit cash.
2. Ambulance Ponzi victim chasing attorney
3. Banana farmers in Antigua that really don’t have any alternative after getting shaken down by the EU.
So duped people are pissed and they want their money back. They have finally come to the conclusion that the original $8bil has been long ago spent on Scarface-size piles of blow and endless hours spent in houses of ill repute so they’re clutching at straws.
Our advice: Just sue the SEC already.
“Fraud victims” want $24bn from the government of Antigua and Barbuda [FT Alphaville]

Fraud Examiners Can’t See the Silver Lining

fraud.jpgThe Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (“ACFE”) is bellyaching about the Garret-Adler amendment.
This is the measure that was passed by the House Financial Services Committee that would exempt small issuers (market cap less than $75 mil) from complying with section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley.
ACFE President, James Ratley:

“At a time when the economic downturn has heightened the risk of fraud for organizations large and small, it simply does not make sense to weaken accounting rules that are in place to protect investors,” he said in a statement. “The bottom line is that internal controls are one of the best fraud prevention tools for any organization to have in place. Providing exemptions for some public companies from the SOX 404 requirements only leads to an increased risk of fraud.”

Ratley very well may be right but let’s not forget who we’re talking about. Nobody — especially accountants — is going to stop the train wreck that is the U.S. Congress. Accordingly, the ACFE should embrace this as a golden opportunity to boost their membership and shout from the rooftops about the benefits of having a CFE certification.
Nobody seems to understand that it isn’t auditors’ job to detect fraud and most companies only seem interested in detective controls, so what’s the point?
Get on this ACFE. It’s fraud awareness week after all. We shouldn’t have to explain this to you.
ACFE Warns Not to Change SOX Rules [Web CPA]

Ernst & Young Study Finds That Fraudsters Aren’t So Creative with Code Words Over Email

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