Expert: Consuelo Herrera, International Accountant and Fraud Examiner - 2/8/2009

Question
an official bank check was prepared and cashed. the check was signed by two (2) authorised signatories and the payee's account wast debited. the payee and the signatories claim they were fooled by another staff into authorising and getting the payee to cash the check for the accused staff.


MY QUESTION: in a court of law who is criminally liable?

Answer
Dear sunil ratahal,

Thank you for writing.

Plase keep in mind that I am not an attorney so my response is intended just to let you know what I have found regarding your question.

The code has set forth four standards.David Shestokas explains that  Guilt can be attributed to an individual who acts “purposely,” “knowingly,” “recklessly,” or “negligently.” Statutes give additional definition to these concepts and set forth which mental state applies to a particular crime.

The main factor to consider is that guilt has to be proven beyond the reasonable doubt.
Criminal law involves prosecution by the government of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime. Civil cases, on the other hand, involve individuals and organizations seeking to resolve legal disputes. In a criminal case, the state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit, while in a civil case the victim brings the suit. Persons convicted of a crime may be incarcerated, fined, or both. However, persons found liable in a civil case may only have to give up property or pay money, but are not incarcerated.

A "crime" is any act or omission (of an act) in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it. Though there are some common law crimes, most crimes in the United States are established by local, state, and federal governments. Criminal laws vary significantly from state to state. There is, however, a Model Penal Code (MPC) which serves as a good starting place to gain an understanding of the basic structure of criminal liability.

Crimes include both felonies (more serious offenses -- like murder or rape) and misdemeanors (less serious offenses -- like petty theft or jaywalking). Felonies are usually crimes punishable by imprisonment of a year or more, while misdemeanors are crimes punishable by less than a year. However, no act is a crime if it has not been previously established as such either by statute or common law. Recently, the list of Federal crimes dealing with activities extending beyond state boundaries or having special impact on federal operations, has grown. See Title 18. (Source: http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/Criminal_law)

Hope it helps.

I wish you continued success.

Sincerely,


Consuelo Herrera, CAMS, CRE