Marquet International Releases White Collar Crime Study On Embezzlement

Marquet International Ltd., an international investigative and litigation support firm based in the Northeast US, released today a white collar crime study on embezzlement. The study, which involved an analysis of 174 cases of major investment active in 2008, had some interesting findings, including:

• The average loss was more than $2.2 million; the median loss was $500,000
• Nearly 60 percent of the incidents involved female perpetrators
• However, male perpetrators accounted for more than 75 percent of all the losses
• The average adjusted age of perpetrators at the commencement of their embezzlement was 43.5 years old
• 40 – 49 year olds caused nearly 50 percent of all the losses
• Nearly ¼ of all losses were inflicted upon financial institutions
• Non-profit and religious organizations accounted for 10 percent of all the incidents
• Nearly half of the incidents were committed by employees who held finance & accounting positions
• The average scheme lasts nearly 4 ½ years
• The District of Columbia had the highest loss ratio followed by Nebraska, Louisiana, California and Oklahoma
• 20 percent of the cases involved conspiracies which accounted for 42 percent of the overall losses
• Nearly 6 percent of the cases involve perpetrators who had gambling problems
• Only 3 percent of the cases involved perpetrators who had a prior criminal history

I must admit that I was a little surprised at how many women are perpetrators of embezzlements. Although readers of FraudTalk may not be since there seems to be a preponderance of female embezzler cases profiled. To get a copy of the study, e-mail us at info@marquetinternational.com.