9 stories this week:
Bank impersonation scams robbing Australians of their life savings – 30 March 2023
Scammers are using new technology to trick their victims, by making the call appear to come from the bank’s legitimate phone number or by sending a text that appears in the same conversation thread as genuine bank messages. Scamwatch received 14,603 reports about bank impersonation scams in 2022, resulting in more than $20 million in losses. Total losses to phone and text scams increased significantly last year, with over $169 million lost.
US accuses Fugees rapper of illegal lobbying with Malaysian financier Jho Low – 31 March 2023
A US prosecutor has accused Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of The Fugees hip hop group of illegally taking tens of millions of dollars to lobby the US government on behalf of a Malaysian financier and the Chinese government. Michel is being tried on 11 criminal counts, including lobbying schemes to influence the administrations of former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Whistleblower laws under scrutiny after being tested in court – and failing – 3 April 2023
Australia’s current whistleblower protection laws have been tested in court and found to be no defence for public servants accused of high-level breaches. Richard Boyle used the federal Public Interest Disclosure Act to ask for 23 of the 24 charges against him to be dropped, but his request was denied. The Federal Government has wanted whistleblower laws strengthened in time for the new National Anti-Corruption Commission to start operating.
Shipbuilder Austal sinks on former U.S. executives’ indictment for financial fraud – 3 April 2023
Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd shares went down after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged three former employees for “allegedly making or causing to be made false and misleading statements about Austal USA’s performance and financial condition between 2012 and 2016. The company since then has announced a write-back to adjust its revenue and profit, settled an investigation by Australia’s securities regulator, and conducted its own investigation into the matter, which resulted in the resignation of the president of Austal USA.
Up to $3 billion in taxpayer money lost to Medicare fraud and non-compliance annually, government review finds – 4 April 2023
Between $1.5 billion to $3 billion is being lost to Medicare fraud and non-compliance every year, according to an independent review that warns the overly-complex system is out of date and risks bleeding more taxpayer money.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/medicare-fraud-non-compliance-report/102183698
‘Down Under Barbie’ Skye Louise Rivers faces string of fraud charges – 5 April 2023
Instagram influencer Skye Louise Rivers is yet to enter an official plea on more than 150 charges of fraud related to what police allege was a “sophisticated” scheme of using other people’s information to open bank accounts and set up lines of credit for two years.
Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony fraud charges over alleged hush money payments during 2016 election campaign – 5 April 2023
Donald Trump has been formally charged with falsifying his business records in a bid to hide damaging information during the 2016 presidential election. The charges relate to alleged payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign. He pleaded not guilty to all counts, and was released without a requirement to post bail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-05/donald-trump-pleads-not-guilty-to-criminal-charges/102183764
Allegations of $150,000 fraud result in woman arrested in Yass – 6 April 2023
A Yass woman was charged with three counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception as well as single counts of dealing with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
https://aboutregional.com.au/allegations-of-150000-fraud-result-in-woman-arrested-in-yass/
Hepburn mayor may sue OpenAI for defamation over false ChatGPT claims – 6 April 2023
A regional mayor may take unprecedented legal action to sue the creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT for defamation, after the program falsely claimed he was a guilty party in a foreign bribery scandal in early 2000s. Legal experts say the case is in uncharted legal territory.
