The FBI is the leading agency investigating corporate fraud and has focused its efforts on cases which involve accounting schemes, self-dealing by corporate executives and obstruction of justice. The majority of corporate fraud cases pursued by the FBI involve accounting schemes designed to deceive investors, auditors and analysts about the true financial condition of a corporation. The FBI has worked with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North American Securities Administrator’s Association, Inc. These organizations have referred fraud investigation expert witnesses and other technical assistance regarding accounting and securities issues. In addition, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Dunn & Bradstreet have been able to provide significant background information on subject individuals or subject companies in an investigation.
Corporate fraud remains the highest priority of the Financial Crimes Section and the FBI is committed to dealing with the significant crime problem. As of the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, 490 Corporate Fraud cases are being pursued by FBI field offices throughout the U.S., 19 of which involve losses to public investors that individually exceed $1 billion.