Tsarra

Costco successfully defends its diversity policies as other US companies scale theirs back Costco has claimed victory in pushing back on a shareholder proposal that urges the wholesale club operator to conduct an evaluation of any business risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion ...

Costco shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI proposal as other U.S. companies retreat from their diversity policies

Reis and Hockridge are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.

More information can be found here:
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/co-fo...

Blueacorn, a company that was used to assist small businesses and individuals in securing their PPP loans. In order to obtain larger loans, the couple is alleged to have submitted falsified documents and charged kickbacks for these false filings. The couple also submitted PPP apps for themselves.

November 22nd, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment for two co-founders of #blueacorn. Inside, Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge are allegedly to have engaged in a fraudulent scheme to obtain Covid-19 funds. This scheme included submitting falsified documents to secure PPP loans.

Not just the state capital, the distance to Philly/DC/Baltimore makes all of those regions far more accessible. Truly the biggest downside to the Carlisle campus is the lack of dorms for international students. Which shows, I believe University park has something like 10x the LLMs/SJD as Carlisle.

While I’ll frequently cite the ACFE here, please know it is in my attempts to distill the information from fraud examiner jargon to tangible and usable information to hopefully spread better business practices.

However, often their resources are wrote from a completely scholarly/academic approach, which while valuable can make it difficult for people to receive good and accurate information from their facts and figures.

The ACFE is always a great resource for information about statistics, and is likely the most cited resource on Fraud statistics, commonly I’ll go to cite a source, look at their sources and its a study or resource by the ACFE. Their work is infinitely invaluable when attempting to educated on Fraud.

One of the benefits to a microbusiness is that you can get to know each of your employees, and have an understanding of who they are. It is important to keep an open mind, as a person might not show these warning signs early on, and only begin to show them months or years into their employment

According to the ACFE- The biggest indicators an employee might harm your business through fraud are:
(1) Conspicuous consumption and/or living beyond their means
(2) Financial difficulties
(3) Recent divorce or other family issues
(4) Excessive control issues
(5) A "wheeling and dealing" attitude

Opportunity is the most discussed way to prevent fraud, as it is where good management and safeguards can save the day. Things like dividing who oversees verifying hours worked, and who writes the paycheck. Ensuring that no one writes their own paycheck.
Perhaps its time for a procedural reflection?

Rationalization is a bit harder, as you combat the internal dialogue of what chunks of your business someone feels they are entitled too. This also might be why so much fraud occurs at the highest levels of the company. An important thing to keep in mind as your small business grows.

Financial need can of course be somewhat mitigated by paying employees well, however this does not solve for employees that have exceptional needs, nor for employeees that struggle with an addiction like gambling or substance abuse. Or, simply employees that live above their needs.

The ACFE believes three primary red flags illuminate if an employee is a particular risk for defrauding their employer. (1) Financial Need (2) Opportunity (3) Rationalization.
Financial need is likely the most self explanatory, and rationalization is often an internal process. “I deserve x”

The Corner Store Comeback Small-scale neighborhood retail is staging a post-Covid revival in many cities, thanks to a mix of zoning reforms, shopping trends and local incentives.

“Planners around the country are learning more & more the background of zoning — its extreme limitations, extreme exclusion & how zoning doesn’t really deliver the communities we want to live in. Communities happen organically... because of flexibility.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Facts & Data on Small Business and Entrepreneurship - Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council A rundown on key facts, numbers and trends regarding entrepreneurship and small business American Business is Overwhelmingly Small Business Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 6.1 mi...

In 2018 There were are an additional 26 million businesses where the only employee is the owner! Meaning that of all the businesses in the US, 96% have less then 10 employees.

These numbers reflect prepandemic, it will be even more interesting to see current figures!
sbecouncil.org/about-us/fac....

Earlier I mentioned 99.9% of U.S Businesses are “Small Businesses,” but perhaps even more interestingly - in 2019 of the 6.1 million businesses that offered hired employees (“employer firms”) 78.5% of them had 10 employees or less.

Fraud Awareness Week is Nov 17-23. The #ACFE has released the following flyer for business owners and their employees.

www.fraudweek.com/-/media/file...

Congratulations!

SBA's nonbank lending program faces scrutiny over fraud risks The Washington Business Journal flags SBA IG findings that nonbank lenders contribute to widespread Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud. Nonbank lenders, who issued $61 billion in PPP loans, ...

SBA’s #nonbank #lenders face scrutiny after $14B in suspected PPP fraud, spurring calls for stricter oversight and transparency. #SBA gathorizon.com/sbas-nonbank...

Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, 2023 Advocacy’s most popular publication, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, gathers the most up-to-date statistics about American small businesses in one place.Frequently Asked Questions abo...

Fun small business facts to get started, recently the Office of Advocacy for the SBA stated that 99.9% of United States businesses are “Small Businesses,” roughly 33 million small businesses!
Just under half (46.4%) of all workers are employed by a small business!
-
advocacy.sba.gov/2023/03/07/f...

Posts here should fall into two main categories (1) educational content about how to prevent fraud in your own small business (2) information about scandals relating to fraud in small businesses.

It is important for small business owners to understand both categories to protect their passions.