Actuary's signature forged on Sch B

[flosfur]

As a 3rd party actuary to a TPA, on a takeover case for 2006 work I noticed that someone had forged (bad forgery) my signature on the 2005 Sch B with my EA # and the rest of my information on page 1 of Sch B.

This is a classical case of the "dumb criminal" - the TPA or someone for him forged my signature and he expects me not to notice it! If I worked on the case last year then I wouldn't need last year Sch B or plan doc which he sent me!

Where does one report a case like this? I don't know if the local police or the DA's office cares about this kind of fraud!?

I started working with this TPA late last year and worked on only handful of his cases for 2005. So, I won't know on how many Sch Bs he has forged my signature unless I go through the 2006 cycle on his cases. But I have no intention of working with him anymore.

[Belgarath]

I'd start with the FBI. If it turns out that they are not the proper authority, they will at least tell you where to report the crime. I'd also contact a good attorney to discuss the civil suit you intend to bring against the forger. I'd be out for blood in a case like this. Good luck!

[Effen]

I believe Actuarial Standards will also require you to inform the client and the IRS that the Schedule B is erroneous. You should also contact the ABCD. I have spoken to them a number of times and found them to be very helpful.

Interesting though, there isn't really anything the Joint Board can do, because the person who signed it wasn't an actuary and therefore not governed by their authority.

You may also want to consider criminal charges against the person and firm who did it. I would also contact an attorney who understands ERISA matters.

[AndyH]

....if you have a few minutes...

(I can't believe I beat WDIK to this)

http://benefitslink.com/boards/index.php?s...amp;st=30

[david rigby]

That post is a good read.

Effen makes good suggestions. However, it may help to ask the opinion of the Joint Board (the Executive Director, not the staff) to look for suggestions. Shining a bright light on this is a good idea. Of course, after you have informed the plan sponsor.

Many readers here would love to know the outcome of this.

[Guest Texas_Acty]

Let's see if I understand: You went to work as a third-party actuary to a TPA, then noticed that someone at that TPA had forged your signature? And that TPA then hired you on??

Or, is it another TPA you claim forged your signature?

[flosfur]

Let's see if I understand: You went to work as a third-party actuary to a TPA, then noticed that someone at that TPA had forged your signature? And that TPA then hired you on??

Or, is it another TPA you claim forged your signature?

No, I didn't go to work for the TPA. He is one of few TPAs I do the vals & Sch Bs in my own office. They send me the required info for the work to be done, eg. current year census and trust accounting and for the cases that are new to me, prior year val and Sch B and plan docs as amended.

As I said, I started working on this TPA's cases late last year and only worked on handful of his 2005 cases. He just sent me a case to do the 2006 work for which he sent me the 2005 Val & Sch B and plan docs. The 2005 Sch B has my forged signature. I know that he was the TPA on this case for 2005 so no other TPA was involved for 2005. Also this TPA does not have an ee so only he could have forged the signature.

Interestingly, I just found out that the actuary he worked with before me had his enrollment suspended. How does one find out why an actuary's enrollment was suspended? Is that public info?

[Guest P-Jay]

DOL-EBSA also handles criminal cases. In addition to the FBI (if the FBI is interested in these cases), you may want to place a call or send a letter to your local EBSA regional office to see if they're interested in pursuing this. This could affect plans beyond the one you looked at, so looking at 5500s prepared by the crooked TPA or the disenrolled actuary could uncover other instances of the same behavior.

[flosfur]

..........

Many readers here would love to know the outcome of this.

Emailed Chairperson of ABCD and, as expected, they can't do anything since the offender is not a member of an actuarial organization.

Called the DOL's local & national offices - they said Sch B is IRS's jurisdiction so they can't do anything about it.

Called IRS's enforcement dept and left a message but no response yet.

Called and left a message with the state's Board of Accountancy but have not heard from them yet.

Called twice and left messages with the director of JBEA but no response yet.

Next to try is the FBI but I don't think they will get excited about such a jite collar crime especailly when there is .

[Belgarath]

I left a message with a friend who is a member of the State Police force. I'll let you know what he says. (basically I asked him, if this were reported to the State Police, what if anything would they do, and would they just refer it to the FBI or recommend that the complaint be filed with the FBI, etc.)

[SoCalActuary]

The IRS has a tip line for reporting suspected fraud. I have used it in the past and have heard that it

was effective. They will not tell you the outcome of their work. However, if a criminal case arises,

you can choose to be available as a witness.

In addition, the beneficiary of the forged documents is the plan sponsor. You should request a

meeting with that party and explain your issue. Bring a good lawyer or other reliable witness with you.

Since the plan sponsor has never been your client, you have no obligation to maintain their

confidentiality.

If you choose to do business with the plan sponsor, you could perform the work for the missed year

and file it currently. Get paid directly, and not thru the dubious "agent" for your services, namely the

TPA.

If the plan sponsor just pushes you off, then you need to sue them.

You should also report this to IRS Examinations branch, aka Jim Holland.

[david rigby]

If the plan sponsor just pushes you off, then you need to sue them. You should also report this to IRS Examinations branch, aka Jim Holland.

I have no problem notifying Jim Holland, but why would the EA need to sue the sponsor? I'm just curious.

[flosfur]

..........

Many readers here would love to know the outcome of this.

Next to try is the FBI but I don't think they will get excited about such a jite collar crime especailly when there is .

Just called the local FBI office amd I was told that the govt. has put a limit on the number of cases they will investigate and that they do not investigate any case involving less $10 million!

So FBI is off the table.

[Mike Preston]

I would think you should contact a lawyer and see about a civil suit. Can't be good for one'e reputation to have fraudulent Schedules B floating around.

[SoCalActuary]

The plan sponsor is the beneficiary of use of his name. Lawyers call it a "taking" of something of value.

He has no evidence where the forged signature came from, just that it was used by the client.

[flosfur]

The plan sponsor is the beneficiary of use of his name. Lawyers call it a "taking" of something of value.

He has no evidence where the forged signature came from, just that it was used by the client.

I believe that's called "unlawful enrichment". Sure the sponsor is the beneficiary but he would have paid the TPA for actuarial fees as part of the total admin fees. So it's the TPA who was unlwfully enriched (and not the sponsor) as well as commiting the fraud.

As to where the forged signature came from: Unless he is brain-dead, the TPA knew very well that I neither performed the val nor did I sign the Sch B. And I did not receive any fee for this case. Even if he had someone else forge the signatue, the fraud was instigated by the TPA, for I don't think there are people out there marketing signature forgeries!?

[flosfur]

I would think you should contact a lawyer and see about a civil suit. Can't be good for one'e reputation to have fraudulent Schedules B floating around.

I want to exhaust the criminal prosecution route before going the civil route.

There must be someone out there prosecuting cases like these!? Anyone knows if anyone in the TEGE branch of the IRS would be interested in this?

[flosfur]

Update on the "suspended" EA who used to work on the DB cases of the TPA under discussion.

It turns out that, per JBEA, the EA's enrollment was permanently revoked in Dec '03 (he must have done something very egregous - JBEA would not divulge the reason for revoking the enrollment). However, he continued to sign Sch Bs after that date and only stopped doing so after April/May 2006.

Which law enforcement agency would be interested in knowing this?

[Belgarath]

Of course this may vary by state, but my friend in the State Police said that if you reported it to the State Police, they would investigate to see if there was "probable cause" (whatever that is) and if so, they would turn it over to the State's Attorney. So this isn't necessarily a lot a help.

If 'twere me, the first thing I would do is contact a lawyer who handles civil cases, and have that attorney give you a road map of what you should do, and in what order, to be most beneficial to your civil suit. There are likely certain steps you can take to strengthen your suit, and increase the liklihood of a judgement against the dirty SOB.

[SoCalActuary]

I will repeat my point of view:

1. Contact the plan sponsor to explain your problem face-to-face.

2. If they do not cooperate, report the fraudulent return to the IRS.

3. If they cooperate, redo the work for the year in question, but working with them directly, not thru the TPA.

4. If they refuse to pay for your services, then you should sue them and the TPA.

5. You should also report the TPA to the local DA, the Better Business Bureau, and any organization that

the TPA belongs to. This may include state licensing boards such as CPA, Insurance Dept., ICFP, etc.

This is best done by sending a press release announcing your filing of a civil lawsuit against the party.

[himt4]

in reference to post #9, last sentence, the word "jite" used in "jite collar crime"

Wasnt sure of this was a typo for "white" as I first thought, or if it was really a word that I wasn't familair with. No definition for jite was found in the various on-line dictionaries, but I did find an old wikipedia entry for jite:

"Jite is alternate descriptive expletive for excrement and/or things and situations of little or no value to the observer. It is often heard used by people from the United Kingdom and by U.S. Christians who do not want to use a more coarse and offending cuss word."

So typo or not?

[flosfur]

in reference to post #9, last sentence, the word "jite" used in "jite collar crime"

.............

So typo or not?

Typo. It sould have been "white". I noticed the typo after posting the msg. I can understand the j since that is next to h but I don't know how w went missing.

[Guest P-Jay]

I still think that the DOL-EBSA can work this case as a criminal matter. Falsifying a 5500 falls under 18 USC 1027, and DOL-EBSA can bring this to the attention of a US Attorney.

(I sent you a private message through this board--if you do not get it, let me know here and I will try e-mailing you.)