There is the old adage about looks being deceiving, and for all I know, the expression originated in England, not all that far from Sheffield. As a fraud prevention keynote speaker, fraud prevention consultant and book author, what has just occurred in Sheffield City is not at all a surprise, for all of the elements of fraud are in place.
Quaint it is
Though it is hard to deny that Sheffield City is a quaint and beautiful place, a recent report written by Julia Armstrong for the BBC (July 26, 2023) paints quite a different image of what is developing behind the façade.
After exhaustive investigations, at least 31 city council and city council staff members have “lost their jobs or resigned following the discovery of fraudulent activity…involving the theft of cash or the falsification of timesheets.”
The full report states: “These cases were from all directorates and included theft of cash or assets, falsification of timesheets, financial abuse of service user, excessive use of internet during work time and behaviour breaching standards within the code of conduct.”
I might as well add-on to the serious charges and note that according to reports there was widespread, and illegal usage, of parking permits by unauthorized employees.
Public sector fraud is costing British taxpayers billions (in U.S. dollars) on an annual basis and the city council of Sheffield is showing patterns consistent with what is being experienced in the U.K.
During the periods of lockdown due to COVID, fraudulent acts through unauthorized computer usage was also identified as a culprit. The report states:
“Number of computer misuse cases has also risen by 89% in the past 3 years. In the current economic climate, some individuals may be tempted to commit fraud due to their circumstance. In addition, organized crime is continually engaged in fraud activity against the council, such as bank mandate fraud. There is also a noted increase in attempts to obtain data from the Council. Internal Audit and the Council as a whole must be vigilant to such threats and to try to ensure that our controls are such as to minimize these threats.”
In the absence of ethical oversight, systems were not in place to create the necessary firewalls nor was it made clear to council members and staff as to the consequences of their actions. Inappropriate contact between government staff and online scams or even bribery from in-person contact with mobsters has allegedly been allowed to flourish.
Vigilance
Quite disturbing to me as a national fraud prevention keynote speaker, fraud prevention consultant and ethics book author is the seeming lack of urgency in response.
“Council staff have mandatory online training to keep them up to date on fraud…however, by the beginning of July, only 1,684 or 19.3% of all staff had undertaken the training.”
It would seem that after 31 dismissals and (currently) 92 cases of additional investigation in regard to another aspect of the Sheffield City fraud in the form of fraudulent housing applications, that the sense of urgency is minimal at best.
“Vigilance” is a nice buzzword, but in an ethically lethargic environment, there is a typical fallback to business as usual. It is not “just common” to the U.K., but it occurs across the U.S. with frequency. Unless the ethical expectations are reinforced with continuous and mandatory training, unethical behaviors will always revert to old patterns.
The question that needs to be asked of the Sheffield City Council is why compliance has been so low? It strikes the heart of culture. In this case, it seems that a lack of oversite, the unethical need for bribery and a twisted sense of rationalization have been culturally perpetuated. In an economy already strapped for cash, taxpayers are being penalized as ethics have been ignored.
It appears that Sheffield City continues to be in ethical trouble.
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