Hacker News with Generative AI: Fraud

CFPB Orders Operator of Cash App to Pay $175M and Fix Its Failures on Fraud (consumerfinance.gov)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Block, the operator of the peer-to-peer payments app Cash App, to refund and pay other redress to consumers up to $120 million and pay a penalty of $55 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

Financial Regulation, Fintech, Consumer Protection, Fraud

3 points by cbrozefsky 7 hours ago | 0 comments

Pastor who saw crypto project in his "dream" indicted for fraud (bleepingcomputer.com)
A pastor at a Pasco, Washington, church has been indicted on 26 counts of fraud for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions between 2021 and 2023.

Cryptocurrency, Fraud, Religion, Law Enforcement

8 points by botanicals6 2 days ago | 5 comments

UnitedHealth overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000% (fortune.com)
UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson, found to have overcharged some cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%

Healthcare, Fraud, UnitedHealth, Cancer, Pricing

355 points by this_weekend 2 days ago | 305 comments

Ex-MoviePass CEO Pleads Guilty; DOJ Calls Case Early Instance of "AI Washing" (deadline.com)
Theodore Farnsworth, the former CEO of MoviePass parent Helios & Matheson Analytics, pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding and conspiring to defraud investors in two public companies, including lying about artificial intelligence capabilities that it didn’t have.

Business, Law, Artificial Intelligence, Fraud

4 points by gurjeet 9 days ago | 1 comments

Multiple Apple employees fired for Matching Grants fraud; six charged so far (9to5mac.com)
Around fifty Apple employees have been fired for allegedly defrauding the company via its Matching Grants program, in which the company agrees to match charitable donations made by employees.

Apple, Fraud, Corporate Crime, Matching Grants, Employee Misconduct

10 points by mgh2 10 days ago | 8 comments

Carvana Is Cooking Its Books, Hindenburg Research Claims (gizmodo.com)
Carvana may be a house of cards. That’s according to investment research and activist short-selling firm Hindenburg Research (never a good sign to be the subject of ire from a company named after a famous disaster), which published a report on Thursday that accuses the online used car seller of “accounting manipulation” stemming from unstable loans that it is using to temporarily prop up its prospects while its father-son ownership team cashes out.

Finance, Accounting, Business, Automotive, Fraud

5 points by hilux 15 days ago | 0 comments

'Disturbing surge in cryptocurrency fraud' led by young, tech-savvy Nigerian men (studyfinds.org)
SURREY, England — In an eye-opening study that sheds new light on the evolving landscape of digital financial crime, researchers have uncovered a striking pattern in Nigerian cryptocurrency fraud: all convicted perpetrators are male, and nearly two-thirds are under 30 years old.

Cryptocurrency, Fraud, Nigeria, Crime, Demographics

5 points by Brajeshwar 16 days ago | 0 comments

Over 3.1M fake "stars" on GitHub projects used to boost rankings (bleepingcomputer.com)
GitHub has a problem with inauthentic "stars" used to artificially inflate the popularity of scam and malware distribution repositories, helping them reach more unsuspecting users.

Security, GitHub, Software Development, Fraud

31 points by emreb 16 days ago | 2 comments

South Korean adoptees and families rocked by fraud allegations (apnews.com)
Her greatest fear, dormant for decades, came rushing back in an instant: had she adopted and raised a kidnapped child?

Adoption, South Korea, Fraud, Family

8 points by achristmascarl 18 days ago | 0 comments

$4.3B+ distributed, Nearly Full Recovery, to 40k+ Victims of Madoff Ponzi Scheme (justice.gov)
The Justice Department announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) began its 10th and final distribution of over $131.4 million to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme.

Finance, Law Enforcement, Fraud, Ponzi Schemes

18 points by gnabgib 18 days ago | 6 comments

CFPB sues Chase, BofA, and Wells Fargo for allowing fraud to fester on Zelle (consumerfinance.gov)
Americans have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to fraud tied to payment network’s shoddy safeguards

Finance, Lawsuits, Fraud, Banking

46 points by impish9208 28 days ago | 6 comments

Slync Founder Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud (justice.gov)
Slync founder Christopher Kirchner was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of tens of millions of dollars, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Fraud, Business, Law, Finance, Criminal Justice

7 points by nigelgutzmann 40 days ago | 2 comments

Beekeepers halt honey awards over fraud in global supply chain (theguardian.com)
The World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.

Beekeeping, Food Industry, Fraud, Awards, Supply Chain

203 points by a_w 48 days ago | 232 comments

Triangle fraud in brick and mortar retail (getcho.app)
A while back, Krebs dropped a piece about a guy caught in triangle fraud scheme; below is the infographic he used.

Fraud, Security, Infographics

84 points by jackconsidine 49 days ago | 42 comments

Macy's employee hid as much as $154M in expenses (npr.org)
A former Macy's employee allegedly hid up to $154 million in delivery expenses for nearly three years, the retailer announced on Monday.

Business, Fraud, Retail, Finance

7 points by geox 53 days ago | 1 comments

Macy's says an employee hid up to $154M in expenses (apnews.com)
Macy’s reported weaker-than-expected sales for the third quarter and said it’s delaying the release of its full quarterly results after it discovered an employee intentionally hid up to $154 million of expenses over several years

Business, Finance, Retail, Fraud

6 points by malshe 54 days ago | 0 comments

US charges Indian billionaire Gautam Adani with fraud (bbc.com)
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged with fraud in the US, which has accused him of orchestrating a $250m (£198m) bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the US.

Finance, Business, India, Fraud, Law

4 points by vinni2 58 days ago | 0 comments

Justice Department Seizes Cybercrime Website and Charges Its Administrators (justice.gov)
The Justice Department today announced the seizure of PopeyeTools, an illicit website and marketplace dedicated to selling stolen credit cards and other tools for carrying out cybercrime and fraud, and unsealed criminal charges against three PopeyeTools administrators: Abdul Ghaffar, 25, of Pakistan; Abdul Sami, 35, of Pakistan; and Javed Mirza, 37, of Afghanistan.

Cybercrime, Law Enforcement, Justice Department, Fraud

6 points by impish9208 58 days ago | 0 comments

Startup Founder Who Sold A.I. Chatbot to Schools Is Charged with Fraud (nytimes.com)
The founder of an artificial intelligence start-up focused on education was arrested and charged with defrauding her investors, lying about the company’s profits and falsely claiming that some of the largest school districts in the country, including New York City’s, were her customers.

Artificial Intelligence, Education, Fraud, Startups, Law

17 points by 2OEH8eoCRo0 58 days ago | 3 comments

Ghost Tap: New cash-out tactic with NFC Relay (threatfabric.com)
Threat actors are scaling the cash-outs

Cybersecurity, NFC, Fraud, Mobile Payments

20 points by gnabgib 59 days ago | 7 comments

Diesel Tuners Indicted for Smuggling $33M in Defeat Devices into US (thedrive.com)
Naming your company DPF Delete Shop, Inc. and emailing about the EPA is one way to get caught by the feds.

Environmental Law, Automotive Industry, Fraud, Government Regulation

38 points by mauvehaus 64 days ago | 12 comments

Spanish police arrest ex-fraud chief after €20M found in walls of his house (theguardian.com)
Spain has arrested one of its top police officers after €20m (£17m) was found hidden in the walls of his house, as part of an investigation into the country’s largest-ever cocaine bust.

Spain, Crime, Fraud, Police

108 points by c420 66 days ago | 126 comments

$50M semiconductor fraudster pleads guilty to Russian chip-exporting scheme (theregister.com)
The US is moving forward with its prosecution of a man who is accused of illegally shipping semiconductors to sanctioned businesses in Russia after he pleaded guilty to the multi-million-dollar scheme.

Semiconductors, Fraud, Russia, International Trade

10 points by sandwichsphinx 70 days ago | 1 comments

AT&T (Again) Caught Cheating Federal Subsidy Program for Poor People (techdirt.com)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a giant U.S. telecom monopoly has been ripping off a federal program designed to help the country’s low income residents.

Telecommunications, Government Regulations, Social Issues, Fraud

12 points by hn_acker 74 days ago | 0 comments

How to Become a Billionaire in Skilled Nursing by Scamming Taxpayers (hindenburgresearch.com)
PACS Group is a $6.7 billion Utah-based operator of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that serves 29,000 patients daily. Its stock is up 104% since its April IPO, making it among the most successful IPOs of 2024.

Healthcare, Finance, Fraud, Utah

12 points by thecosas 74 days ago | 2 comments

Six Charged in Scheme to Defraud the Federal Government (justice.gov)
Six defendants have been charged for their roles in schemes to rig bids, defraud the government and pay bribes and kickbacks in connection with the sale of IT products and services to federal government purchasers, which resulted in overcharges of millions of dollars to the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense (DoD).

Federal Government, Fraud, Corruption, Law Enforcement

5 points by sandwichsphinx 75 days ago | 0 comments

19th Century Map Shows a Fictional Country Created by a Con Man (atlasobscura.com)
A little over a year ago, Daniel Crouch, one of the foremost dealers of rare books, maps, and atlases in the world, came into possession of a 19th-century map. It had been drawn by a man named Gregor MacGregor. “The first thing you need to know about Gregor MacGregor, from the Clan Gregor, is he’s improbably named,” says Crouch. “The second is that his story is so improbable, but, trust me, everything I’m about to tell you is true.”

History, Maps, Fraud

71 points by drdee 75 days ago | 18 comments

Temu Dropshipper Fraud Using Amazon Listings (amazon.com)
I’m beyond frustrated and need some advice here. I recently discovered that a seller on Temu is not only dropshipping my product, but they’re also stealing my product images and descriptions, listing them on Temu as if they own the brand. They’ve ripped off everything—design, images, branding—all of which I created myself.

E-commerce, Fraud, Intellectual Property, Dropshipping

6 points by ilamont 79 days ago | 0 comments

A Rock-Star Researcher Spun a Web of Lies–and Nearly Got Away with It (thewalrus.ca)
On January 29, 2020, Kate Laskowski sat down at her desk at the University of California, Davis, and steeled herself to reveal a painful professional and personal saga. “Science is built on trust,” she began in a blog post. “Trust that your experiments will work. Trust in your collaborators to pull their weight. But most importantly, trust that the data we so painstakingly collect are accurate and as representative of the real world as they can be.”