Illustration: Aidan Bongiorno
Do you know anybody who has been impacted by alleged financial fraud? Or are you a Forensic Accounting student interested in volunteering alongside professionals? SUNY Old Westbury’s Justice for Fraud Victims Project (JFVP) might be just what you’re looking for. The JFVP puts students to work helping the community fight financial fraud.
Created in 2019 by SUNY OW’s Masters in Forensic Accounting Program and the Long Island Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the JFVP’s goal is to help victims of alleged financial fraud in situations where legal investigation services aren’t financially feasible.
“A lot of colleges learn through the textbook. This is what I call unstructured problem-solving,” said David Goldstein, lead professor of SUNY OW’s Graduate Forensic Accounting Program.
The JFVP teaches students to think through and problem-solve real-life cases while working with groups overseen by school mentors.
Group work helps students improve their communication skills in a professional environment as they will need to communicate effectively with each other and case victims. Speaking with assistant district attorneys will teach students how to secure the information they need and how not to divulge confidential business information. This will bring cases like Ponzi Schemes, Investment Fraud, or Elder Abuse Fraud to prosecution faster.
Small businesses or nonprofits that cannot afford certified fraud examination often look to law enforcement for assistance. JSFP steps in to help when Police departments and district attorneys do not have the resources for a case where a victim has lost only $1,000, Goldstein said.
The program works behind the scenes to present minor cases to the district attorney in circumstances where they cannot invest the resources to prepare, prosecute and seek restitution for the victim. That’s where students will look into what documentation is available: bank statements, credit card statements, or investment statements.
“If somebody is stealing money from somebody, like a bookkeeper or the caretaker for an elderly person, we look at where the money is coming and going to, and do the analysis based on that,” Goldstein concluded.
The JFVP is an asset that faculty and students of the Old Westbury community should be aware of. It has the potential to benefit everybody and brings attention to an issue that could affect anyone.
