Currency Traders Allegedly Attempted to Use Attack to Hide Losses
The New York Times is reporting that a lawsuit filed yesterday alleges that traders at First Equity Enterprises and Evergreen International Spot Trading conspired to hide $105 million in missing funds by claiming it was somehow lost as a result of the World Trade Center attack on September 11. The lawsuit claims that three executives absconded with the money and were attempting to steal an additional $160 million from clients of the firms to cover up the original losses.
This is not the first report of an attempt to use the terrorist attack to cover up unrelated problems. Although the vast majority of loss claims will undoubtedly be legitimate, we have often wondered how many bogus claims would be filed for things like destroyed automobiles.
This kind of activity is insidious because fraud deprives those who have suffered legitimate losses of resources they deserve. Fraud investigations also delay the distribution of insurance settlements and charitable relief. Americans must have no tolerance for deception in this time of need.