Invoice For Services NOT Rendered – Preventing Vendor Fraud

Please note, this blog was written by Navjeet Vaid

Your employees and suppliers are likely stealing from you. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 22% of reported fraud cases involve some form of billing scheme where the target organization paid for products or services it had not received. Take for instance, the case of Delta Airlines; the victim of a $36 million vendor fraud spanning more than 10 years.

The scheme involved two long-standing employees at Delta, whom we will call Bob and John. Bob owned a company that supposedly provided voice and data services to Delta. He would send the invoices to his accomplice, John, for authorization, in return for a portion of the ill-gotten gains. Working in concert for more than a decade, the two employees stole more than $36 million.