Nearly 300,000 Canadian small businesses hit by fraud
Posted May 16th, 2012 by Nathan Skillen with No Comments
Workplace fraud in Canada is a disturbing reality that costs small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) billions of dollars each year. Nationally, one quarter of Canadian SMEs were hit by fraud in the past year, according to a recent report from the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada,(CGA-Canada), Does Canada Have a Problem with Occupational Fraud?
In support of Fraud Prevention Month, CGA-Canada commissioned a video on workplace fraud which draws attention to the widespread issue. It also demonstrates how businesses need to be aware of the unpredictability of the potential fraudster.
CGA-Canada encourages SMEs to have measures in place to detect, deter and prevent fraud which includes having a fraud response plan. A whopping80 per cent of SMEs do not have a fraud response plan in place. The association has provided five top fraud prevention tips to businesses which include raising awareness in the workplace, spotting the warning signs, catching the potential aggressor, developing a fraud response plan and stopping fraud at its source.
Bookkeeper admits stealing from Opera Lyra even as she awaited sentencing for other fraud
Posted May 14th, 2012 by Nathan Skillen with 56 Comments
A bookkeeper hired by Opera Lyra has admitted stealing more than $11,000 from the company or about 20 per cent of the financially strapped opera company’s cash.
OTTAWA — A woman awaiting sentencing for defrauding the Canadian Council of Archives admitted on Thursday that she also stole from Opera Lyra, even as the cash-strapped arts group had to cancel performances due to funding shortfalls.
Glenda O’Hara, 56, took $11,437 from Opera Lyra, writing 14 cheques to herself between November and January.
O’Hara took the bookkeeping job after she pleaded guilty to stealing $140,000 from the non-profit Canadian Council of Archives, where she worked as a payroll manager.
In a victim impact statement, Opera Lyra said the money O’Hara stole amounted to 20 per cent of its cash on hand at the time. O’Hara wasn’t one of the employees who lost their jobs after the company halted performances in mid-November.
Supporters had to lend the company money to survive.
The Opera Lyra job wasn’t the only extra bookkeeping work O’Hara picked up. She also admitted to stealing $5,762 from Ottawa Towing after Opera Lyra’s director of finance saw a newspaper report about her sentencing on the earlier fraud and discovered she had been taking money from them, too.
During the earlier sentencing hearing, prosecutor Matthew Geigen-Miller said a tearful O’Hara told Ontario Court Justice Ann Alder she was good at her job at Opera Lyra and never handled any money.
The day before, she cashed a cheque she had written to herself.
Geigen-Miller asked for up to two years in jail for O’Hara, who herself admitted to a psychiatrist that she had also stolen $20,000 from the Metis National Council and a further $40,000 from Canadian Produce Marketing Association in the past.
In addition to three years’ probation, Geigen-Miller asked for an order under new legislation banning O’Hara from ever handling anyone’s money ever again.
“This is a lengthy career of abusing a position of trust,” said Geigen-Miller. “Simply put, she is going to need to train and find a new line of work to protect the public from her dishonesty.”
O’Hara’s lawyer, Kimberley Pegg, asked for a one-year jail sentence, arguing the impulsive O’Hara suffers from bi-polar disorder and depression and needs help, not a lengthy time behind bars.
Pegg acknowledged there was no justification for O’Hara’s conduct, however.
O’Hara is expected to be sentenced May 11
Hefty fine imposed in tax evasion case
Posted May 10th, 2012 by Nathan Skillen with No Comments
Original Article: http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2012-05-09/article-2974409/Hefty-fine-imposed-in-tax-evasion-case/1
Louise Harris, a shareholder for a Carbonear engineering consulting company, Harris & Associates Limited, was fined $135,303 Monday after pleading guilty in provincial court in St. John’s to three counts of tax evasion.
According to a news release, a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation determined that Harris, as the main bookkeeper for the company, evaded taxes by understating income for herself, the company, as well as the other shareholder of the company, Thomas Harris.
• $42,845 in taxes was evaded by understating almost $340,000 in income on the 2007 and 2008 corporate income tax returns for the company;
• $59,033 in taxes was evaded by understating almost $230,000 in income on her 2006, 2007 and 2008 personal income tax returns; and
• $33,425 in taxes was evaded by understating over $132,206 in income on Thomas Harris’ 2006, 2007 and 2008 personal income tax returns.
The investigation revealed that personal expenses of both Louise Harris and Thomas Harris were being claimed as business expenses and paid with company funds. Items claimed include a personal condo in Florida and related expenses such as travel to and from Florida, meals and entertainment, as well as payments to their personal credit cards.
The fine is payable over 60 months with a minimum monthly payment of $2,225.
The fine represents 100 per cent of the federal tax Harris knowingly tried to evade.
In addition to the fine, Harris & Associates Limited, Louise Harris and Thomas Harris each will have to pay all federal taxes owing, plus related interest and penalties.
Not getting paid
Posted May 1st, 2012 by Gordon Skillen with 52 Comments
For many years, I have coached bookkeepers from across Canada on subjects as varied as personal development, marketing to best business practises. One of the most debilitating discussions is on the subject of not getting paid. In many cases, a letter of agreement or engagement is never used. Even in situations where there is a tight case and an opportunity for a lawsuit, most people could not be bothered. The Canadian Anti Fraud Centre tells us that fully 95% of fraud cases are never reported. It takes a lot of time in court, in lawyer meetings and time away from their core business, as well as lot of very negative energy. In many cases, it might very well be the best things to do and just walk away and chalk it up to experience.
Checking out your clients before you do business with them is good advice. Check with the local Better Business Bureau, learn as much as you can about the client before agreeing to work for them. Our due diligence report will help you with some ideas. Now, you can even order a litigation report from iHonest. This report tells you of every court case where your client has been sued or has sued someone else. It will certainly give you some insight into the past behaviour of your potential client. The best predictor of future behavior is past behaviour. If you find that your potential client has been sued by every Tom, Dick and Harry, you might consider why you want to work with this person. Obviously if it is a few hours a month client, you might take a chance, but any more than that, well, do you enjoy working for free? I recall one of our members calling me in tears. Her client, who she thought she knew well, asked her to drop her rate during his slow season and that he would catch up at a later date. By the time she called me, she was owed over $14,000 and felt that she might never get paid. Almost every person who runs any sort of business has been ripped off.
If you have been ripped off and are still carrying around the bitterness of being treated so poorly, I want you to read Kiss that Frog by Brian Tracy and his daughter Christina Tracy Stein. I had the unfortunate experience of meeting a low life person a number of years ago who robbed me of over $182,000. Because he was affiliated with our industry and I thought, a respected person, I stupidly trusted him and his associates and ended up on the losing end of a battle that saw reputations ruined, money lost and a whole lot of negative energy being tossed around. I learned some time ago how to do investigations and quite frankly, I investigate everyone before I do business with them now. For over a year, I carried around a ton of bitterness. Just recently, I was able to release the negative energy, thanks to the book Kiss that Frog. The future is looking very bright, and in the near future, I will be announcing some special news. If you are a bookkeeper or an accountant, now is the time to join iHonest. I’ll tell you why later. With members all across Canada, we are in for some exciting times and increased revenues for you!
Avoid Scams on Craigslist
Posted March 20th, 2012 by Nathan Skillen with 359 Comments
After writing about how to Land Craigslist Jobs, some people have been asking me how to avoid scams on craigslist. As posting a job on craigslist is free (with the exception of a few major cities in the US), this allows anyone at all to post jobs, including many without your best interests at mind. Here are some of the most common scams/ripoffs on craigslist jobs and how to avoid them:
» Don’t give out personal information: Some people use craigslist to phish for personal information for identity theft, spam or to sell to others. Avoid giving out any unnecessary information – your full name, references, contact information, online presences and portfolio/work examples should be all that’s necessary. If you want to be extra protective in avoiding spam, use a different email address.
» Get payment up front: The most common scam on craigslist is not being paid. Always get at least partial payment up front (I do 50% up front unless it’s a larger project for an established company). If they don’t want to pay you up front then that is an instant red flag — don’t waste your time.
» Do your due diligence: Just as you would do due diligence if you were hiring or contracting someone, do your due diligence on your new clients or employers. Research them via Google searches, check the BBB, see if they have a physical office you can visit in case there are any issues and use your common sense when you’re talking with them (phone calls are great for this) to get a positive or negative gut feeling on them.
