October 1994 Fraud Terminology Topics
Trap Streets, Phony Slide, LL.B., LL.M.,
Sweat Merchant, Analysis Paralysis, Club Fed,
Doc Flock, Displacement, and Stripped Book
 

In their final weeks of medical school,
students flock into court to change their names
before they receive their diplomas.
 

Fraud In Other Words™
Professional Jargon and Uncensored Street Slang
by Larry C. Adams, CFE, CPA, CIA, CISA

 

Trap Streets
Fictitious streets or extra segments of streets added to a map by a cartographer to catch unauthorized plagiarists.

 

Phony Slide
A phony slide may be substituted for an original specimen slide and used to support lies on a patient’s medical chart. A slide is a rectangular piece of glass used for mounting specimens to be examined under a microscope. A specimen slide may be obtained from a biological supply house or an extra slide may be prepared from another patient to support a phony diagnosis. A phony slide may be used to hide medical problems, such as a pregnancy, from the patient’s family. A phony slide may be used to hide medical errors that might result in a malpractice claim. An unethical doctor, clinic, or laboratory may use a phony slide to support false medical insurance claims.
Michael Crichton, Rising Sun, A. A. Knopf, 1992.
Photo: BBC News

 

LL. B.
In Latin, Legum Baccalaureus. A Bachelor of Laws degree. In some writings and collections of statute law, L is the abbreviation for law. LL is an old abbreviation for the plural form - laws.

 

LL. M.
In Latin, Legum Magister. A Master of Laws degree.

 

Sweat Merchant
A tough interviewer or interrogator. A polygraph examiner. Their intimidating manner and questions may cause a witness or suspect to perspire heavily.
Photo: Virginia State Police



 

Analysis Paralysis
Examining a situation in too much detail without making a decision. Tabling a matter for further study. Over-auditing. Excessive investigation. Spending too much money, time, and other resources on a problem without taking any course of action to implement a solution. Prolonging the agony. Procrastination. Spending more on the investigation than the cost of the problem and the solution.

 

Club Fed
A nickname for the advance training facility for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in rural Quantico, Virginia.
FBI Forensics Laboratory Photo: Vanderweil Engineers





 

Displacement
A psychoanalytical term describing the shifting of an emotional affect from an appropriate object to an inappropriate object or person. The transference of emotion. For example, when a person is being interviewed they may shift their attention, in order to disguise their feelings or to avoid unacceptable ideas. They may rap the table irritably and frown across the room at some person or object.

 

Stripped Book
A paperback book or magazine with the front cover torn off. Depending on their purchasing agreement, a retailer may return unsold or out-of-date publications to the publisher for credit or a refund. To save the cost of packing and shipping all copies and issues, the publisher allows the retailer to rip off the front covers and return the covers only. The retailer submits the covers with a report declaring that those items have been “unsold and destroyed.” An unscrupulous retailer might collect the refund and sell the publications without the cover for a discounted price. In this scam, neither the author nor the publisher receives any payment or royalty for a stripped book that was actually sold.
James Patterson, Cat & Mouse, Warner Books, Inc., New York, 1997, copyright page.

 

Doc Flock
In their final weeks of medical school, a number of students flock into court to change their names before they receive their diplomas. The reason for that great rush is that a doctor cannot change his name after receiving his/her M.D. degree without invalidating that degree. This is their last window of opportunity to make a change. During an investigation of a person in a medical field, a skip tracer might target a period near the graduation to search for a name change.

 

Larry C. Adams, CFE, CPA, CIA, CISA, teaches fraud examination at the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Arizona. He publishes the book and online editions of “Fraud In Other Words.” His Web site is www.larry-adams.com. His e-mail address is fraudwritr@aol.com.

 

ã Copyright 1994 Larry C. Adams. All rights reserved.
“Fraud In Other Words” is a trademark of Larry C. Adams.
 

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