Fraud Awareness: Regina Vs. Ian Gregory Thaw Case Study

This article discusses the Regina Vs. Ian Gregory Thaw fraud case and highlights red flags to look out for in fraud. It also provides lessons learned and tips on how to prevent fraud. The article is relevant to anyone interested in fraud prevention and detection.

Running head: FRAUD AWARENESS
Discussion
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FRAUD AWARENESS
Case : Regina Vs. Ian Gregory Thaw
The case is a fraud case of Regina vs. Ian Gregory Thow. Mr. Thow pled guilty for
all the 20 counts of fraud leveled against him which occurred in several jurisdictions in his
life. The frauds began in the fall of 2003 and continued till late 2005. He engaged in two
main fraudulent events which were mainly in investments. They were non-existent
investment. The first fraudulent event included the trading of shares in National Commercial
Bank in Jamaica and the subsequent trading of public shares of Berkshire Hathaway
investments. The second is based on short-term mortgages development(Biegelman &
Bartow, 2012). This was on On March 4th 2010.
Red flags and symptoms in a fraud
Ian started living a life of opulence and started. It is very easy to notice a lifestyle
change when suddenly everything changes in lifestyle of a person. Most of the time lifestyle
audit is done to determine the level of opulence or if the accused is living within his means.
Mr. Thow lured his clients into investing into non-esisting investment schemes that could
harldy be traced. He purported to follow the direction of Mr. Michael Lee-Chin the principle
founder of Berkshire investment and National Commercial Bank of Jamaica. Some
complainats were also treated with goodies like gifting them with hockey games to stay at the
luxurios lodge on Langara Island. Sometimes, he would declare his networth as hundred of
millions of dollars and produced documents purpoting to declare his wealth.
Red Flags
Most of all the red flags, tend to justify the act of fraud. This was also a case with Mr. Thow.
In the risk group, employees who reluctantly disclose even controlled documents to

FRAUD AWARENESS
managers, not to mention those who without enthusiasm share their experience with
specialists to fulfill their job duties and who are not satisfied with their job, or suddenly goes
on vacation.he becaome a perpertual liar and claimed to own some percentage of the
Berkshire value. This led to increase in trust and confidence by the investors who would
givehim millions individually to invest for them. He claimed that he would be able to give
investors access to NCBJ shares knowing that he had no rights to access them. He used his
companies which were privately held like Vancouver Island Jet, AYG investments and B.C
limited but when asked for documentation he never provided any for transactions. (Riley &
Rezaee, 2013)
Fraud is largely a latent misdemeanor, which is connected both with the camouflage
of criminal acts for legitimate behavior, and with the identity of the victim himself. The
reasons for this may be different: minor damage to the victim, lack of confidence in the
ability to prove the theft, perception of the activities of law enforcement agencies as passive
in the criminal prosecution of the fraudster, unwillingness to disclose certain facts of the
incident due to the victim's fear of assessing his actions as reprehensible from a moral and
legal point of view(Riley & Rezaee, 2013)
Lessons Learned
Fraud is usually perpetuated by individuals who are most trusted individuals. Ian Thaw, new
that he was fraudulently acquiring wealth from the people he was working for. The lessons
learned is that individual investors should take due diligence and become aware of the
individuals they are dealing with. When dealing in investments, documenting transactions is
vital. it doesnot matter how close an individual is, but when dealing with investments
documentations is vital.

FRAUD AWARENESS
Conclusion
There are many institutionsthat deal with fraud cases, however the ultimate verdict of
whether the accused is guilty or innocent lies with the honorable court. The judge has the
jurisprudence to determine the verdict of the case based on the merits and demerits presented
in the court of law. For Mr. Thaw, the court determined that he is guilty of defrauding
innocent investors whose trust they had put in him.
In making investment decisions, the environment and positioning of the environment
should be taken into consideration. Fraud should never go unpunished. For Mr. Thow,
people should learn to do due diligence before making any decision to invest. Impromptu
visists to ascertain the persons account is necessary and if one realizes that there are some
things which are not explainable report. Enquire on possible other avenues to invest and
diversify on investment. (O’Gara,2004,p.56)

FRAUD AWARENESS
References
Biegelman, M., & Bartow, J. (2012). Executive roadmap to fraud prevention and internal
control. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Coderre, D. (2013). Computer aided fraud prevention and detection. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Cascarino, R. (2012). Corporate Fraud and Internal Control + Software Demo. Hoboken:
Wiley.
Riley, R., & Rezaee, Z. (2013). Financial statement fraud. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.