What to do if you are under investigation 7?

There is one more issue we need to discuss if you are asked to be interviewed regarding a white-collar or missing funds situation at your place of employment (even if you did not have anything to do with it) - will you be placed under oath when giving testimony?

     There is a vast difference between being asked questions informally and being asked questions while placed under oath.  The difference is obvious - once you are placed under oath you will have sworn to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."  If you violate this standard and willfully give false information, not only can this subject you to civil penalties (and the possible loss of employment), it can also subject you to possible criminal prosecution (depending on the severity of the mis-statement, the investigation that is proceeding and if the investigation is being pursued by Federal or local authorities and/or if the results of the investigation will be turned over to the authorities for possible prosecution).

     It goes without saying, therefore, that if you are asked to give testimony under oath, it is generally a very good idea to speak with an attorney before giving such testimony.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

What to do if you are under investigation 6?

So - we are asking the real question - do you need to speak to an attorney BEFORE answering the questions?  As stated, once the answers are given, they are very difficult to take back.

    One of the important details that occurs before an interview, even a few minutes before an interview is going to begin, is:  "what is this about?"  Even in a work environment, you have the right to ask what the interview will be about and what questions are expected to be asked.  If you are told that you will be asked questions about missing funds or an employee who took funds or about accounting irregularities or something else along the same lines, then you at least have a heads up as to the fact that if you are not under investigation, then at the very least you are being investigated as part of the investigation of another person.

     So, if you are not directly under investigation, what is the right course of action?

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

What to do if you are under investigation 5?

As we have been exploring this topic, one constant theme keeps reappearing: do I call an attorney or not?

     As an attorney, this is a hard question to answer.  On the one hand, as an attorney, it is difficult to overestimate just how often people can get themselves into trouble because they answer questions they had no business answering before they could get proper legal advice.  On the other hand, it is entirely possible to become paranoid after basing an entire career of playing games of "what if," which is necessary for a white-collar criminal defense attorney. 

     One of the things I always tell clients is that once words are spoken, it is very, very difficult to unspeak them.  A genie, once out of the bottle, is hard to replace.

     The answer, therefore, to the question of whether an attorney is needed, is in and of itself the sequel to another question - do I need help or advice before answering questions?  If you are going to be in a position where you are required to answer questions, do you need to listen to advice from an attorney BEFORE answering those questions?

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

What to do if you are under investigtion 4?

What happens, however, if you are asked for an informal interview from your business and it is not from the police or a third party investigator?

     This situation is obviously different.  You are not being "formally" interrogated but rather informally.  This happens all the time in a business environment.  In fact, it can almost be argued that these types of interviews are almost a part of the modern work environment.

     There are three basic questions that you need to ask yourself:

1.  Do you have any information about what you are being asked?  Were you involved at all in the matter (which, as we discussed, involves theft or white-collar fraud)?  I am not talking here about being actually involved in the crime (if you are involved in the crime, it goes without saying that you DEFINITELY need an attorney) but rather if you have any knowledge about the parties involved or the incident?  If the answer is "yes," then how much information do you have?  Generally speaking, the more information you have, the more you might wish to speak to an attorney first.

2.  Will this interview be recorded and will there be more than one person present in the room with you (i.e. a third party who is taking notes?)  Once again, if the answer is yes, you might wish to speak to an attorney first.

3.  Is anyone else being interviewed or just you?  If you are the only one, once again you may wish to speak to an attorney first.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

What to do if you are under investigation 3?

OK - let's take what we talked about the other day one step further - what do you do if you are contacted by the police, law enforcement officials or a third party investigator (outside investigator or an internal investigator that works in-house for large firms)?

     In this case, the answer is easy - speak with an attorney first who specializes in fraud and white-collar crime.  Even if you did not "do" anything, it is essential to speak with someone who understands the process of fraud.

     The question I am constantly asked, however, by people is; "if I didn't do anything wrong, why should I speak with an attorney?"  It is not a question of you doing something wrong - quite the oppositte - it is a question of you understanding your rights and privileges as an American worker and an American citizen (note, of course, that I am only speaking about U.S. law here.  I cannot give advice about the laws of foreign nations). 

    Before you are interviewed by a third party or a law enforcement official, take the time to speak with an attorney who handles fraud cases first.  It is important that you be instructed in your rights before you give answers to questions that may not even be legal or appropriate to ask of you.

    The follow-up question I usually get is: "won't it look bad to my employer if I speak to an attorney first?"  The answer I normally give in these situations is that, once again, you have rights as an American that must be respected and it is important to understand those rights first.  It looks even worse, in my opinion, to walk into a situation blindfolded.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

What to do if you are under investigation 2?

There is an old saying that the first rule of a battle is to know when you are in one.  In other words, if you don't know you are in a battle (or fight), then it is hard to know exactly how to react.

     Getting us to the present topic - the first rule, therefore, is to know if you are under investigation.

     Sometimes this is ridiculously simple.  If you are in a work environment and a person in your company's HR department, or internal fraud department or (if it is a small company) a co-worker comes to you and starts asking you questions about missing funds or bad accounting and insinuates or comes right out and says that you "might" be involved, then obviously this is a big red flag that you are under investigation.

    Another obvious red flag is if you are asked to be interviewed by a law enforcement agency about some accounting irregularities which may involve you.  Another red flag is if any outside source, such as an investigatory agency, wants to interview you about the same thing, once again with the caveat that this may involve you.

     Obviously, therefore, if you are asked to be interviewed about missing funds or accounting errors, and it is clear that these missing funds or accounting errors "may involve you," then this is a clear indicator that you might be under investigation.

     But - what if it is not as clear-cut as this?

    Next post.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

What if you are under investigation?

To the readers of this blog - Happy New Year!  I hope 2013 is a great year for everyone.

     Back to the ugly reality of fraud, however.  We will spend the next few posts determining what to do if you are the subject of a fraud examination.  What happens, for example, when you work at a business, money goes missing or there are some account irregularities, and then you find that either someone is knocking on your door asking to "talk" with you or, worse yet, your boss or supervisor starts asking you questions related to the missing monies or irregularities. 

   What then?

    The worst time to decide, of course, is when it is happening.  So, we will take some time to go through the process of fraud investigation so hopefully, if any of the readers of this blog are on the receiving end of such an investigation, they will have some answers before it all begins.

  This has been covered before in other posts (with varying degree of detail), but it is important enough to talk about again. 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

                                             

Have a great and fraud-free day.

 

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk