Professional Services
FRP Advisory
Full Credential Description
we was engaged by a large national charity to investigate suspicions of financial irregularities at one of its branches, following discrepancies between its accounting records and a supplier ledger. The branch was primarily managed by two volunteers, one of whom served as treasurer and had admitted to misappropriating charitable funds by depositing cheques into their own bank account and cashing cheques. The charity instructed we to forensically investigate these financial irregularities, determine the amount misappropriated, how the funds were taken, who was involved, and the likelihood of recovering the money.
The Forensic Technology team at we utilized Encase to forensically image the laptop of the individual involved, processing both current and deleted data, which was then uploaded into Relativity for review. They developed keyword searches to identify relevant email correspondence and conducted digital forensic analysis to uncover deleted documents and the individual's internet history. Additionally, they reconstructed the branch’s annual profit reports with necessary adjustments and assessed the recoverability of the misappropriated funds. Background checks and asset searches were performed on key individuals involved in the investigation.
The investigation revealed three key methods used to extract funds, estimating the total value of misappropriated funds to be more than double the amount initially admitted by the treasurer. The findings were compiled into a report provided to the police, leading to the treasurer being charged, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison. Furthermore, we assisted the charity in developing a more stringent control framework to mitigate future risks of financial crime.