This document provides instructions on how to become a master thief and commit fraud successfully. It discusses developing a believable cover story and cause for stealing, carefully planning the fraud, calming one's conscience, executing the plan incrementally to avoid detection, and settling out of court if caught. Notable fraudsters like Bernie Madoff and Frank Abagnale Jr. are mentioned as examples. The document emphasizes that trust is the "currency of fraud" and that appearing honest and believable is key. It argues one should develop a compelling but unshareable need to justify stealing and get others to participate to help justify questionable actions.

1. ZENFRAUD
HOW TO BECOME A MASTER THIEF

3. RITA CRUNDWELL
DIXON, ILLINOIS COMPTROLLER

4. BERNIE MADOFF
NASDAQ CHAIRMAN
OWNER OF INVESTMENT COMPANY

5. BECOMING A MASTER THIEF
1. Be Believable
2. Have a Cause
3. Develop Your Plan
4. Calm Your Conscience
5. Execute Your Plan
6. If Caught, Settle Out of Court

6. BE BELIEVABLE

7. WANT TO BE A PILOT?
• Uniform
• Pilot's
Identification
• FAA
Identification

8. ABAGNALE'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Flew over 250 flights -- free
• Flew over 1,000,000 miles -- free
• Cashed several hundred thousand in
fake checks
• Piloted a plane with 140 people on
board though "he could not fly a kite"
...all before he was 19 years of age

9. TRUST IS THE
CURRENCY OF FRAUD

10. YOU ARE IN LUCK...
YOU ARE ALREADY
BELIEVABLE

11. WHAT DOES A TYPICAL
FRAUDSTER LOOK LIKE?

13. –Groucho Marks
“There is one way to tell
if a man is honest--ask
him. If he says yes, he's
a liar.”

14. HAVE A CAUSE

15. CAUSES
• Gambling Habit
• Drug Habit
• Medical Bills
• Keeping up with the Joneses

16. COMPELLING UNSHAREABLE NEEDS

17. DEVELOP YOUR PLAN

18. HOW?
• Dependent Upon Your Position
• Look for Opportunities
• Places Lacking Segregation of
Duties
• See Auditor SAS 115 Letter
• Epiphanies

19. 36% of Frauds
Corruption-Related

20. KICKBACKS
• Difficult to Detect
• No Conversion Problem (Cash)
• Fraudster Thinks It Harms No One

21. CALM YOUR CONSCIENCE

22. I AM
BORROWING

23. I EARNED IT

24. ASK OTHERS
TO JOIN IN
(OR NOTICE
THEY ALREADY
HAVE)

25. –Dan Ariely,
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty
“When we do something
questionable, the act of
asking our friends to join in
can help us justify our own
questionable actions.”

26. ABOVE ALL,
YOU MUST
OVERCOME THE
OBJECTIONS OF
YOUR CONSCIENCE

27. IF YOU DON'T
HAVE A CONSCIENCE,
SKIP THIS STEP

28. –Dan Ariely,
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty
“Each of us has a limit
to how much we can
cheat before it becomes
absolutely sinful."

29. EXECUTE YOUR PLAN

30. DO SO IN
INCREMENTS

31. THEN...LISTEN
FOR SIRENS

32. THE COAST IS CLEAR

33. CAREFUL...
GREED IS YOUR ENEMY

34. IF CAUGHT,
SETTLE OUT OF COURT

35. REASONS TO SETTLE
• You don't want a criminal record,
your next employer may perform a
background check
• Remind the government that this
would reflect poorly on the elected
officials
• Remind the government it's cheaper
and easier to keep things quiet

36. FRAUD PREVENTION:TAKE AWAYS
• Trust Your Mother, But Cut the
Deck
• Know Your System Weaknesses
• Develop a Fraud Prevention
Program
• Pay Attention to Signs

37. CHARLES HALL
• McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & Co.,
LLC
• Email- chall@mmmcpa.com
• Phone - 478-330-5248
• Blog - CPA-SCRIBO.com
• Book - The Little Book of Local
Government Fraud Prevention - Amazon