The Marquet Report on Embezzlement, released in December, indicated California, with seven cases, had the most embezzlement cases tied to gambling in 2013. New York was second with five cases and Oklahoma was third with four cases. The report said gambling was the second most likely motivating factor in embezzlement. The first was the wish for a “lavish lifestyle,” which also may have a gambling element, the report indicated.
According to the report: “We believe that gambling is a prime motivating factor in many embezzlement cases. One prosecutor went so far as to say that virtually every major embezzlement case he prosecuted had a gambling element to it. This prosecutor automatically subpoenas the local tribal gaming establishment’s records any time he has an embezzlement case.”
The study also reported Vermont had the highest “Embezzlement Propensity Factor,” which measures a state’s risk for major embezzlement, followed by the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota, Virginia, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.
Marquet International is a Boston investigative and consulting firm specializing in corporate fraud.
