Crime at the top: detecting and preventing fraud, theft, and embezzlement

Perhaps the most financially damaging scenario a hospital can face is when its chief executive officers (CEOs)--presidents and top financial directors--engage in fraud, theft, and embezzlement. Not only are these crimes often impossible to detect, they usually involve dollar amounts in the millions. So harmful is top-level crime to the reputation of a hospital that, all too often, it remains covered up and goes unprosecuted. In this report, we will present several criminal cases and offer advice on practical steps you can take to ensure that such crimes do not occur at your hospital. We will also discuss proactive measures a security department can employ to become involved in investigating crime at the top.