Contract Fraud and Procurement Fraud Investigations.
The rise in contract management and the outsourcing of goods and services has created an increase in contract fraud and procurement fraud, which can occur at any stage of the contracting and procurement process. Appropriate controls, fraud prevention strategies and proper tendering processes are necessary in the fight against this fraud.
Organizations can be defrauded through collusion among bidders, between employers and contractors, and by sole procurement employees. As a result, organizations need to be aware of their vulnerabilities and the risks associated with such fraud schemes. Internal Audit departments should have the skills and techniques to prevent, detect and deter contract and procurement frauds.
Sometimes, procurement fraud schemes can be difficult to detect and prevent. They can occur in any step of the procurement process, can take on various forms and take place over a long period of time. Bribery and Corruption are very common especially in large and medium sized companies. But although they are common, they are often hard to detect and prove.
Private investigators and private detectives, who specialize in contract and procurement fraud investigations, should know how to detect the most common types of corruption schemes and understand whether they are illegal and whether the perpetrator has committed a crime.
The most common fraud schemes involve:
- Collusion among contractors – contractors submit false bids and inflate prices.
- Collusion between contractors and employees – This collusion leads to bid tailoring schemes.
- Fraud in procurement without competition – Here we have common fraud schemes in the sole-source contracting process.
- Performance – Once the contractor begins performing the work, new fraud schemes open up, involving defective pricing and non-conforming goods and services.
One of the first responses to suspected procurement fraud is to develop an investigation plan. ISOG private investigators and private detectives can help clients detect, investigate and solve such frauds.
ISOG private investigators and private detectives are expert in contract fraud and procurement fraud investigations.