Confidence in a rigorous, robust and defensible digital forensic investigation
When a local government organisation in South Africa identified potential fraudulent activities involving a training contract, they asked us to conduct the digital forensic investigation. They drew on our experience to ensure that the collection and investigation of the digital data was defensible and rigorously conducted, giving them confidence in the result and helping them to focus their subsequent enquiries.
Potential forgery sparks fraud forensic investigation
A senior manager uncovered the potential forgery of a signature on a document confirming the details of employees eligible for a sponsored training programme and subsequently discovered that two of the names on the list were not employees of the organisation. Salient Discovery were called upon to gather relevant digital forensic information and to conduct a thorough investigation of the data.
Investigation starts with defensible collection of email and documents
We collected four laptops and retrieved 80+ GB of email and OneDrive data for review, ensuring that any evidence gathered would be defensible in court, depending on the outcome of the investigation. The crux of the investigation revolved around a potentially forged electronic signature on a document dated years after the signatory had left the organisation, and email correspondence between the sender of the alleged forged document and contacts with the third party training company.
Digital forensics uncovers crucial evidence
Our experts conducted a thorough digital search across the data to identify other documents signed by the senior manager in question, and then reviewed them visually for signatures. We found one where the image of the signature bore striking similarities to the one in the forged document. We also reviewed the electronic information associated with the forged document to establish that it had definitely been created after the “signatory” had left the organisation.
Email communication offers additional insights
Our investigation also covered the email communication between various interested parties. We found and highlighted anomalies in email traffic between employees and the training company, indicating that the training programme participants who were not employees were enrolled on the training but were conspicuously absent from the due diligence background and qualification checks that were carried out on the other participants.
Efficient and robust process expedites fraud forensic investigation
We presented the evidence that we had found in the form of a written report. The client was able to use the findings from this to inform and direct their future investigative activities. Drawing on our experience, we were able to focus their approach, saving them considerable time and giving them confidence that all the relevant information had been retrieved and reviewed defensibly.
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