- Published: November 14, 2021
- Updated: November 14, 2021
- University / College: University of South Australia
- Language: English
- Downloads: 3
The first element in the framework is ‘ Incentive’ which stems from the urge or pressure to commit fraud. The incentive for Charlene Corley was probably to earn a good amount of money that would increase their family standing in the community.
The second element of opportunity could be a potential weakness in the system that the right person could exploit to commit fraud. For instance, this was when Charlene discovered a drawback in the Department’s billing system wherein shipping costs were submitted and reimbursed separately without reference to the goods shipped or the price limit for shipping such goods.
The third element of rationalization happens when a perpetrator convinces his/her own self that such a fraudulent behaviour is commensurate with the risk taken. In this case, the sisters might have felt that they deserved to receive a lot more than a few hundred (or thousand) dollars for their efforts and the money made from this was worth the risk taken.
The fourth element of capability comes into play when a person with the necessary traits and abilities to be the ‘ right’ person recognizes the prospect of fraud and attempts to turn it into reality. Charlene possessed the traits to carry out a crime of this magnitude including the knowledge of the payment systems used by the Department as well as the power within her company to execute fraudulent transactions on the system. In the absence of a whistleblower, Charlene knew that a fraud committed by her would go unreported. One could surmise that Charlene influenced her sister to follow suit in perpetrating this fraud.