Page 101 - ACFE Fraud Reports 2009_2020

Table of Contents

Education of the Perpetrator – Median Loss

$325,000
Postgraduate Degree
Education Level Bachelor Degree $150,000 $243,000 2004
$162,500

2002

High School or Less $50,000
$70,000

$0 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000
Median Loss

The Effect of Collusion

Approximately two-thirds of the frauds in our study were committed by a single perpetrator,
but when more than one person conspired to commit fraud, the median loss rose
dramatically, more than tripling. This trend was expected because when multiple
perpetrators conspire to commit a fraud, this makes it easier to circumvent anti-fraud
controls. For example, collusion among several employees can render ineffective the
independent checks that might otherwise flag an internal fraud scheme. The effect of
collusion was actually much larger in our 2002 study, where we found that the median
loss increased by a multiple of 7 when more than one person conspired to defraud an
organization.

Number of Perpetrators – Frequency

Number of Perpetrators Two or more 32.4% 65.1% 2004
One
67.6%

2002
34.9%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Percent of Cases

35