The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "defraud" ...
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Fraud on the Job
KING 5 dedicated nearly a year to dig into the complex world of the federal minority contracting program. The program is intended to remedy past and current discrimination against minority and women-owned contracting businesses who want a shot at working on federal highway projects. But instead of fostering equal opportunity, KING found staggering fraud and abuse in the taxpayer-funded program. The investigative series titled “Fraud on the Job" was born. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for administering the program. WSDOT contracts with a small state agency, the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE) to certify which contractors qualify as "disadvantaged business enterprises" or DBEs. They also make sure that once in, the companies aren’t cheating or becoming too big to qualify. The state’s share of billions of federal highway funds comes with some strings attached, including a requirement that a certain percentage of money spent on transportation projects be reserved for minority-owned firms. The results of the “Fraud on the Job” series were swift and extraordinary. Two days after the first story aired, the governor ordered the Washington State Patrol to conduct a criminal fraud investigation. She also ordered a top-to- bottom review of OMWBE. Two weeks later, the governor asked the director of OMWBE to resign. Another top manager quit and another was fired. Two of the companies KING exposed as defrauding the government were removed from the DBE program by the state. State and federal legislation is now being drafted to stop the cheating. And now the FBI and the Inspector General of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation are investigating.
Tags: fraud; government; tax; taxpayer; fund
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Air Duct Investigation
Using hidden cameras, Inside Edition exposes a national ripoff where an organized group of individuals use air duct cleaning companies to go from state to state defrauding homeowners.
Tags: homeowners; scam; air ducts
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The David Rose Oil and Gas Fraud Investigation
For years, David Rose ran a complex boiler room scam operation that collected millions of dollars from victim investors under the veneer of a fossil fuel extraction enterprise. No such drilling operations were underway, and the scam defrauded millions from victims only to fund Rose's personal ventures such as "Future Happiness, LLC," Rose's private collection of luxury vehicles. Perhaps the most shocking of all is the short 52 month sentence Rose will receive. WHAS-TV outlines the governments failure to adequately find and prosecute investor fraud schemes, especially while his sons appear to be reengaging parts of the business while sending their father $500,000 a year in "consulting fees." Official have yet to act on this news, but WHAS-TV hopes to educate future investors on criminal companies.
Tags: investors; fraud; David Rose; boiler room scam; scheme; oil; natural gas; drilling; investigation;
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Public Works, Hidden Violations
Several construction companies were given "tens of millions in federal stimulus contracts," even though they violated several laws and regulations. Also, a few had been "convicted of defrauding taxpayers on previous projects" and others had previously paid fines for violating regulations. These should have been revealed when filling out the forms to be approved for the stimulus contracts.
Tags: transportation; workplace; safety; pollution; environment; FOIA; Highway Division; officials; federal government; federal funds
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VA Loan Fraud
The series reveals “major banks and mortgage companies across America were systematically defrauding military veterans who were refinancing home loans”. “Federal mortgage documents show there were potentially more than 900,000 veterans since 2001 who could be victims of the scheme”. As a result of this series, veterans contacted their lenders and eventually repaid the charges.
Tags: Johnny Isakson; congressional; hearings; corruption; federal government; Wells Fargo; loan officers; interest rates
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Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry
The book "investigated and documented the roles played by physicians, hospital administrators and corporate executives in a ten-year scheme to defraud Medicare and private insurers of tens of millions of dollars by performing unnecessary invasive tests and heart surgery" on patients.
Tags: medicine; hospitals; health care; health; Medicaid; surgery; fraud; Tenet Healthcare; federal investigation; Redding Medical Center;
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Flash and Cash
"Eurasian organized crime members are funding their international empires by defrauding government health and welfare programs in the United States out of tens of billions of dollars."
Tags: crime syndicate; welfare; fraud; government; national; FBI; ICE; murder; launder; La Cosa Nostra
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Doubts About Cassey
Over the course of a decade, AIDS activist Cassey Weierbach told her tragic story of contracting HIV from a man who raped her. The local people in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley helped her when she needed it, as they "held her hand when she was laid up in a hospital bed. They’ve cooked her meals and done her laundry. They’ve passed the plate for her on Sunday and paid her rent when it was overdue." But a pastor revealed her accusation that Weierbach did not have AIDS, and was deceiving everyone. Others questioned the veracity of Weierbach's story, as it also included details of a best friend, the alleged rapist's daughter and also a rape victim of the same man, shooting herself in front of Weierbach. Weierbach also claimed her father died in a famous plane crash. Both individuals were still alive and well, and quoted for the story. The Morning Call tells the story of a community and a woman who may or may not have been telling the truth about an affliction with a terrible disease. In the wake of the story, Weierbach was charged with defrauding the state of $67,000 worth of medical benefits.
Tags: AIDS; HIV; Munchausen syndrome; fake illness; fraud; medical fraud
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Blowing In The Wind
Two whistle blowers share the story of how State Farm Insurance "was systematically defrauding its loyal customers" in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Sisters Cori and Sherri Rigsby are State Farm insurance adjusters who told ABC News about how State Farm employees "were instructed to fraudulently alter customers' claim forms and even shred documents so the famous insurance company could avoid paying benefits to families who lost everything in the hurricane."
Tags: Hurricane Katrina; State Farm insurance; Cori Rigsby; Sherri Rigsby; whistle blowers
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Omnicare
A lawsuit has targeted Omnicare, the "nation's largest supplier of drugs to senior citizens in nursing homes and assisted living facilities." Spurred by the whistle-blower's tip, the CBS Evening News investigates the lawsuit, which alleges that Omnicare CEO Joel Gemunder conspired to defraud Medicaid.
Tags: Omnicare; Medicaid; Medicare; fraud; Joel Gemunder; Total Pharmacy