October 2026

In circumstances with proper measures in place, a fraud scheme can be completely prevented or at the very least be discovered sooner than it would be otherwise.

This was not the case for a surrogacy agency and affiliated law firm at which Destiny McKayla Combs was the Accounting Manager for approximately nine years....

Elizabeth Simpers, the former president of the Wake Forest Chamber was accused of fraudulently misapplying more than $69,000.00 meant for the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce.

Simpers was accused of using the Chamber’s monies for personal expenses, such as a party bus rental, orthopedic services, residential plumbing repairs, Amazon purchases, and home improvements. Simpers...

Charmaine Gatlin worked as the former Chief Operating Officer of the Jackson Health Foundation earning a six-figure salary.

Using this position Gatlin defrauded the foundation of at least $4.3 million intended to support Jackson Health System’s safety net hospitals and patients between 2014 and 2024. Instead, Gatlin used multiple methods to divert these funds for her...

Ippei Mizuhara was the translator and manager of Shohei Ohtani, a star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ippei also worked for Ohtani interpreting for non-baseball-related activities. In March 2018, Mizuhara took Ohtani to help him open a bank account to deposit his MLB salary. MLB salaries at the top of the sport...

Kellie L. Johnson, former First Community Bank “FCB” vice president during her nearly 25-year tenure at the bank, embezzled customer funds according to a guilty plea in May 2023.

Johnson admitted to embezzling about $2.3 million between July 2013 and June 2023. Through diverting money from the bank’s Federal Reserve account, Johnson used...

Not every fraud scheme is simple or uses traditional methods such as taking physical monies or initiation bank transfers.

Such is the case of Rufus Chappell who was a former state of Michigan employee who worked for the Unemployment Insurance Agency and Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. In his role Chappell was expected...

Kisean Paul Anderson aka Sean Kingston is a music artist mostly known for a 2000’s R&B hit song, “Beautiful Girls”.

Having this stardom led to brands providing products to Anderson in order to boost sales through association with the popular star. However, things did not go as planned for some brands who were...

Unfamiliar charges on your credit card?

This was the case for Mears Floral, a Springfield, Missouri business founded in 1949. Mears Floral served retail florists in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Mears Floral was in operation for over 70 years and employed Kayellen Faye Inskip as a bookkeeper and Operations Manager.

On...

Dennis Merle Huston pled guilty to a complicated embezzlement scheme to steal millions from Franklin County, Washington. 

Huston was the former director of administration and accounting at Franklin County Public Works. Huston confessed from March 1990 to February 2012, he fraudulently submitted invoices and payment requests for Critzer Equipment Company, then deposited the...

After James Rupard moved to Stewartsville, North Carolina, he began working for the volunteer fire department.

While there he held positions as captain, treasurer, and eventually became Stewartsville Firefighters Association president. Stewartsville Firefighters Association was a separate, charitable association in charge of collecting and disbursing donations to the fire department.  

Rupard opened...