We’re Hearing PwC CRTs Will Be Rough This Year
The rumor mill has been worked into a lather about a reduction in force at Marcum (someone in the comments says that’s BS though we did get confirmation of some kind of private equity deal coming down the pipe), lots of performance discussions at Deloitte after promotions were unexpectedly delayed for many, and possible silent […]
Better Late Than Never: PCAOB Fines Ex-KPMG Vice Chair of Audit Scott Marcello $100,000 In Connection With Inspection Scandal
It only took five years, but Scott Marcello finally received some sort of punishment for what happened in KPMG’s audit practice several years ago as partners were working with PCAOB insiders to illegally receive advanced notice of the PCAOB’s inspection plans for KPMG audits. Marcello, KPMG’s former vice chair of audit, was fined $100,000 today […]
Two of the ‘KPMG 5’ Barred By the SEC Indefinitely For Being Dirty Cheaters
Ex-KPMG partners David Britt and Thomas Whittle were told by the SEC on Wednesday that their accounting privileges were being taken away for a long time because of their involvement in a multiyear scheme with three other KPMGers to steal regulatory information from the PCAOB to cheat on audit inspections. The administrative proceeding orders released […]
Last Indicted Ex-KPMG Partner to Be Sentenced In PCAOB Scandal Won’t Be Going to Prison
Almost three years after being indicted for his involvement in one of the biggest ethics debacles in public accounting history, former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle was sentenced today to two years of supervised release. And that’s all, folks. The six accountants who were charged with fraud and conspiracy by the feds on Jan. 22, 2018, […]
No Jail Time For Another One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Indicted In PCAOB Scandal
When former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle goes before U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken to hear his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 2, he will be the last of the five ex-KPMG executives who were indicted in January 2018 for their roles in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB to […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Thomas Whittle Is Up Next For Sentencing In PCAOB Scheme
Former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle—one of the five decision-makers at the House of Klynveld who were indicted in January 2018 for making the very poor decision to steal confidential information on which clients’ audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so KPMG could improve its dismal inspection results—is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2, according […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Given Slap on the Wrist From Judge During Cheating Scandal Sentencing
Adrienne mentioned this in Footnotes on Friday, but just in case you missed it, former KPMG partner David Britt won’t be serving any time behind bars for his role in the audit firm’s scheme to cheat the PCAOB inspection process a handful of years ago. Instead, Britt, 57, who is a resident of North Carolina, […]
FYI: One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Is Scheduled to Be Sentenced on Oct. 9 (UPDATE)
[Article updated with new sentencing date.] A Manhattan federal court judge will decide next month whether former KPMG executive David Britt should spend some time inside a jail cell for his involvement in a scheme to steal secret audit inspection information from the PCAOB. But if Britt, former co-leader of KPMG’s Banking and Capital Markets […]
SEC Takes Away Privileges From Another Felon In KPMG/PCAOB Scandal
David Middendorf’s trial buddy, Jeffrey Wada, the now-former PCAOB inspections leader who fed confidential information about upcoming audit inspections to some folks at KPMG, including Middendorf, in the hopes of landing a job at the Big 4 firm, is now prohibited from appearing or practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission as an accountant. Wada’s […]
Convicted Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Suspended By the SEC
Another “KPMG 5” executive who will be serving prison time for his role in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection lists from the PCAOB was suspended today from appearing or practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission as an accountant. The SEC released the following two-page order of suspension against David Middendorf, former national […]
Jailed Ex-KPMG Executive Director Barred By the SEC Because Why Not?
Cynthia Holder, one of the “KPMG 5” who was sentenced to eight months in federal prison in August for her role in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB, was “denied the privilege” of appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant, the commission announced on Nov. 29. The SEC […]
Ex-PCAOBer Jeffrey Wada Gets Prison Time For Being a Blabbermouth In KPMG Scheme
Being passed up for a promotion can cause a person to do really dumb things in a fit of anger. For now-former PCAOB inspections leader Jeffrey Wada, the really dumb thing he did was illegally tip off executives at KPMG—not once but twice—about which KPMG audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so the firm could […]
Another One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Has Pleaded Guilty In PCAOB Scheme
David Britt is the latest former KPMG partner who has admitted guilt for participating in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB. Britt, 56, who was a co-leader of KPMG’s Banking and Capital Markets Group, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Oct. 3. His trial […]
Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Was Spared a Lengthy Prison Sentence
A second member of the “KPMG 5” will serve jail time for his involvement in an information-stealing scheme to cheat the PCAOB inspection process. David Middendorf, former national managing partner for audit quality and professional practice at KPMG, was sentenced this morning in Manhattan federal court to one year and one day in federal prison, […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Request to Have His Wire Fraud Conviction Thrown Out Gets Shot Down, Crashes, Burns
Welp, so much for that. David Middendorf, former national managing partner for audit quality and professional practice at KPMG, is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court tomorrow, according to Law360, for his role in an information-stealing scheme in which PCAOB insiders fed KPMG executives secret plans on which of the Big 4 firm’s […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director Who Was Major Player In PCAOB Cheating Scandal Sentenced to Eight Months In Jail
The first prison sentence was handed out today in Manhattan federal court to one of the five former KPMG executives indicted in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB. Cynthia Holder, a former PCAOB inspections leader who later worked as an executive director at KPMG, was sentenced to eight months in […]
SEC Says $50 Million Fine For KPMG Is ‘Significant’ and ‘Appropriate’ For All That Cheating Going On
The SEC made official today the news that Dave Michaels of the Wall Street Journal broke late last week, announcing that KPMG will pay $50 million to settle allegations that former partners “stole the test” by using confidential information that was being fed to them by a PCAOB insider to improve the firm’s performance on […]
$50 Million Fine SEC Is Reportedly Giving KPMG Over PCAOB Scandal Isn’t Big Enough
Dave Michaels of the Wall Street Journal broke some huge news late last night about a huge fine the SEC could levy against KPMG later this month because of several former partners’ involvement in one of the biggest U.S. accounting scandals in recent years—stealing secret audit inspection information from the PCAOB. KPMG LLP is preparing […]
Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Believes He’s Been Done Wrong, Wants a Crack At a New Trial
Don’t get out those orange prison jumpsuits just yet for former KPMG partner David Middendorf and former PCAOB inspections leader Jeffrey Wada. The two men are asking a Manhattan federal court to throw out their wire fraud convictions or grant them a new trial, saying the government didn’t provide enough evidence to support the guilty […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director’s Sentencing Put Off Until June
We won’t know until June at the earliest how much prison time former KPMG executive director Cynthia Holder will get for her involvement in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Holder was supposed to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court on April 5, but her sentencing […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: David Middendorf and Jeffrey Wada GUILTY!
A Manhattan jury on Monday convicted former KPMG partner David Middendorf and former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board staffer Jeffrey Wada for their roles in one of the biggest accounting scandals in recent years. Law360 court reporter Jack Newsham broke the news on Twitter earlier this afternoon: https://twitter.com/TheNewsHam/status/1105198618003324930 https://twitter.com/TheNewsHam/status/1105202676642578435 Newsham wrote that the verdict could […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: David Middendorf Takes the Stand
Law360 court reporter Jack Newsham wrote on Feb. 28 that it could happen this week, and he was right: Former KPMG partner David Middendorf took the stand this afternoon to testify in his own defense. https://twitter.com/TheNewsHam/status/1102661422411063296 Authorities have said that Middendorf and four of his former KPMG colleagues—Thomas Whittle, Brian Sweet, David Britt, and Cynthia […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: What David Middendorf Allegedly Said Once the Scheme Started to Unravel
OK guys, things are starting to get good in the David Middendorf trial. We now know the identity of “Partner-5”—the person at KPMG who allegedly blew the whistle on the information-stealing scheme that five KPMG executives and one Public Company Accounting Oversight Board employee were involved in to help KPMG know ahead of time which […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: Brian Sweet Takes the Stand
The trial of ex-KPMG partner David Middendorf keeps rolling along, as prosecutors on Feb. 19 called on one of the major players in the scheme to steal secret audit inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to testify against Middendorf. Brian Sweet, a former associate director at the PCAOB who later became a […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen PCAOB Inspection Information
The former national partner-in-charge of inspections at KPMG pled guilty on Oct. 29 for his involvement in a scheme in which the Big 4 firm repeatedly used stolen confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board information to cheat the regulatory inspection process. Thomas Whittle, 55, pled guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges, pursuant to a […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director Admits Guilt in PCAOB Inspection Leak Scandal
A former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspector-turned-KPMG executive director, who was accused of obtaining confidential information on which KPMG clients’ audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so the Big 4 firm could improve its dismal inspection results, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Oct. 16 for her involvement in the scandal. Cynthia Holder, […]
KPMG Adds Retired Four-Star Air Force General to Its One-Star Board of Directors
No, it wasn’t Pope Francis, Malala Yousafzai, or the ghost of Nelson Mandela, as Caleb suggested last April, but KPMG U.S. on Oct. 4 appointed retired Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger as the firm’s first independent director to its board, nearly nine months after five former KPMG executives were indicted for their roles in an […]
Federal Judge Strikes Down Ex-KPMG Partners’ Request for SEC Evidence Search
If you’re dying to know what’s going on with David Britt, David Middendorf, and Thomas Whittle, the former KPMG partners who are accused of participating in a scandal in which confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection information was leaked to the accounting firm, Law360 has an update: A group of former and would-be KPMG auditors […]
Setback in Court For Ex-KPMG Execs, As Judge Refuses to Toss Out Counts in PCAOB Inspection Info Leak Case
As Mick Jagger sings, “You can’t always get what you want.” What three former top KPMG executives and two former employees of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board—who are accused of participating in a scheme in which confidential PCAOB inspection information was shared with the accounting firm—wanted was for their conspiracy and wire fraud counts […]
KPMG Used Confidential Inspection Info to Snatch BBVA Away From Rivals, Report Says
If you missed this late last week, Francine McKenna of MarketWatch detailed how KPMG used access to confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection information to poach a client from its Big 4 rivals. The client, Spanish bank BBVA, was one of nearly a dozen KPMG clients caught up in the audit inspection scandal. Others […]
Report: Court Documents Name KPMG Audit Clients Caught Up in PCAOB Leak Fiasco
MarketWatch reporter and friend of Going Concern’s, Francine McKenna, wrote an outstanding article today after digging through court documents obtained by MarketWatch that name the audit clients caught up in the KPMG audit inspection conspiracy. And there are some pretty big names. The Justice Department in January brought criminal charges against five former KPMG executives […]
Clearly Not Everyone at KPMG Got the Memo About the ‘Raise-Your-Hand Culture’ at the Firm
Photo: A higher proportion of hand raising than at KPMG.
Report: Ambac Was One of the KPMG Clients That Got a Second Peek Thanks to Stolen PCAOB Info
Francine McKenna did some expert sleuthing and reports at MarketWatch that Ambac Financial Group was one of the unnamed issuers in the indictment of former KPMG employees and one former PCAOB inspector. There were enough clues to piece together that “Issuer-2” was Ambac, one of the companies that were allegedly subject to a re-review by […]
All the Gory Details From the Indictment of Former KPMG Partners
If you’re not one of the six accountants who was criminally or civilly charged today, then you’re having a good Monday. And if you’re still not convinced, let’s peruse the details from the criminal indictment so you can feel better about yourself. The allegations paint a pretty sad picture of some prominent audit professionals at […]
Former KPMG Employees Learn That Using Confidential PCAOB Inspection Info Has Its Drawbacks
Six former employees of KPMG have been arrested and charged “with conspiring to defraud securities regulators and misuse of confidential auditing information.” These charges stem from the leak of confidential PCAOB inspection information that we learned about last year. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges in a parallel action. The 54-page indictment lists […]
Costa Rican Auditor Admits To Never Actually Auditing
Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd’s former outside auditor admitted in federal court this week to participating in a $670 million fraud in the life settlement bond market, according to the Department of Justice.
56-year-old Jorge Castillo pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride in Alexandria, Virginia, said in a call with reporters. He could face up to 20 years in prison.
Castillo admitted to conspiring with PCI president Minor Vargas Calvo to prepare false financial statements that reflected contracts PCI held with other reinsurance companies. Castillo admitted to prosecutors that he never audited PCI’s financial statements and that he was aware PCI did not actually enter into the contracts with other reinsurance companies listed on the company’s financials. PCI paid him about $84,000 from 2004 to 2010.
Castillo will be sentenced in a Richmond, VA federal court on May 22.
DOJ: Purported Auditor Of Provident Capital Pleads Guilty In Scheme [WSJ]