THIS QUOTEWAS MADE casually in a conversation by Tommie to an

academic colleague, but does represent the raison d’^etre for the new

edition of this book. Since time immortal, there have always been a

number of humans who are bent in their ethics, morals, sociological makeup,

psychological makeup, or sense of justice, and are ready, willing, and able to

commit crimes of all types, including white-collar crimes. But hard economic

times seem to cause a few more than normal to crumble under the economic

pressure and give in to the temptation to commit a fraud.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) did an empirical study

in 2009 on the effect of the weak economy on the number of frauds being

detected by CFEs, entitled ‘‘Occupational Fraud: A Study of the Impact of an

Economic Recession.’’ Based on the results of the responses of 507 CFEs, more

than half indicated that the number of frauds had increased since the recession

began (37.3 percent slight increase, 18.1 percent significant increase). About

49 percent also saw an increase in the dollar amount of the losses due to fraud.

Obviously, and empirically evident in the ACFE study, pressure has increased

on an increasing number of people due to the recession. And as all antifraud

professionals know, pressure is a key to the occurrence of frauds. Therefore,

there is a greater need than ever for corporations, companies, and government

agencies to be vigilant to protect assets that are more precious than ever.