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Larry C. Adams, CPA
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Fraud Examiner
E-mail
fraudwritr@aol.com
Telephone (602) 995-8008
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January
2002 Topics
Bustarella, flimsies, mokita, muckrake, and vehicle
charity scams
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This article is in the January/February 2002
issue of
The White Paper, the Journal of the Association of
Certified Fraud Examiners.
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Fraud In
Other Words:
Professional Jargon and Uncensored Street Slang
By Larry C. Adams, CFE, CPA, CIA, CISA
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Bustarella
 An expression for a cash bribe or a
backhander. Busta is an Italian word for envelope. A bustarella is a little
envelope, and there is no need to mention the contents. Bustarella is a
euphemism which suggests that a cash bribe would be the solution to certain
obstacles. For example, a licensing procedure can be expedited with a bustarella,
or the special terms of a contract can be specified in the bustarella. In Italy,
a company estimates how much in taxes they think they should pay and then hires
a commercialista (consultant) to negotiate the taxes with the government. The
company might report less than 35% of its actual revenue and ignore tax
schedules. It is common practice for the commercialista to give the revenue
agent a bustarella for his services in handling the tax case. The company pays a
lump sum to the commercialista, so it does not know the exact amount of the
bustarella handed to the government employee.
Patricia H. Werhane, “Individual Moral
Responsibilities in Business: Dilemmas of Business Persons,” Symposium on
American Values, Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, http://www.angelo.edu/events/
university_symposium/1985/werhane.htm,
October 13, 2001.
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Flimsies
Credit card transaction receipts that
are printed on thin paper, such as carbon paper, thermal paper or pressure
sensitive paper used for making multiple copies. The discarded receipts are
collected from retail stores, restaurants, and gas stations, and then sold to
fraudsters. The fraudsters use the credit card numbers to emboss new plastic
cards. Also they use the numbers to order merchandise by phone or by computer.
NYPD Blue, ABC Television, July 19,
2001.
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Mokita
 A term from Kiriwana, New Guinea that
South Pacific islanders use to describe the truth that everybody knows, but
nobody speaks about directly. For example, a mokita might be about who cheated
whom and the details of the each incident. Openly discussing a mokita carries a
social obligation or a severe consequence. It can obligate the talkers to do
something about the situation or face a violent tribal death. Mokita can mean
the truth that many think they know, but are wrong about. Also it can mean the
truth that only a few people know, but refuse to tell. Hans Christian Andersen’s
story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (1837) revealed the power of unspoken
truths.
Howard Rheingold, They Have a Word for
It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases, 2000 edition,
Sarabande Books, Louisville, Kentucky, pages 48 - 50.
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Muckrake
 To search out and expose real or
apparent misconduct of prominent individuals or businesses. Before World War I,
a new breed of reformist journalists were called muckrakers. More than a
thousand newspaper and magazine articles took aim at business and political
corruption by scientifically exposing the ills of modern industrial society.
Their exposés led to a wide range of regulatory legislation, including
anti-trust laws. The best-known muckraking novel was Upton Sinclair’s The
Jungle (1906). U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, “The men with
muckrakes are often indispensable to the well-being of society.” A muckrake was
a farm tool used for cleaning sticky moist manure (muck) out of the stables in
the 17th century.
Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber,
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield,
Massachusetts, 1999, pages 370 - 371.
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Vehicle Charity Scams
Ads soliciting contributions of old
cars to non-profit charities are everywhere - on television and radio, in
newspapers and magazines, on telephone pole fliers, and on the Internet.
Generally, the car contributors get free towing and a “fair market value” income
tax deduction. Big legitimate charities like the American Lung Association and
Goodwill have contracts with towing companies and auctioneers to handle the
transactions for relatively modest fees to ensure the charities get most of the
proceeds. However, as the number of vehicle contributions has increased,
for-profit businesses have moved in to solicit donations. Sometimes the
for-profit companies keep more than half the money, often under an agreement in
which they pay a flat fee for the use of a smaller charity’s name, regardless of
how many vehicles they accept and sell. In some cases, the charity only gets 1
or 2 percent of the proceeds.
 Contributions in these for-profit cases might not
be fully tax deductible and could be subject to a penalty of $1,000 per
transaction for all parties. Other scams use fake charity names that are similar
or sound legitimate. A Sacramento man was convicted in 1999 for illegally raking
in $1 million by accepting donated cars and selling them for the Foundation for
Abused Children - a charity which doesn’t exist. The Wisconsin Attorney General
ordered two unlicensed charities to stop taking donated cars in 1998. The
National Cancer Association and National Lung Association offered to take the
vehicles only if people sent a check for $200 or gave a credit card number to
pay towing costs.
Curt Anderson, Associated Press,
“Vehicle Charity Gifts Draw IRS Scrutiny, Lots of Scam Artists,” Arizona
Republic, September 26, 1999, Page A24.
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Larry C. Adams, CFE, CPA, CIA,
CISA, is an audit consultant
in Phoenix, Arizona. His latest book is Fraud In Other Words, Second Edition,
1999. He is a member of The White Paper Editorial Review Board. His e-mail
address is fraudwritr@aol.com.
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Copyright 2001 Larry C. Adams. All rights reserved.
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