BDO has been involved in a number of engagements which resulted in major litigation and press attention.
[edit]Miami Bank Fraud (2007-2011)
In August 2007 a jury in Miami awarded Banco Espirito Santo $521.7 million--$170 million in compensatory damages and nearly $352 million in punitive damages--over allegedly negligent audits that BDO conducted on a corrupt Espirito Santo subsidiary. On June 23, 2010 the Third District Court of Appeal of the state of Florida unanimously overturned the 2007 jury verdict against BDO, ruling that the firm had been denied a fair trial, and ordered that the case be retried in the 11th Circuit Court. [3] In May of 2011, BDO USA, LLP entered into confidential settlement agreement with Banco Espirito Santo which resolved the lawsuit against BDO. [4]
[edit]Washington, D.C. tax scandal (November 2007-2010)
A group of DC government employees had embezzled funds by fradulently issuing real estate tax refund checks to their friends. BDO Seidman was the independent auditor of the DC government's financial records. On November 21, 2007 Reuters wrote “Washington, D.C., officials should fix problems identified in an audit that found the city mishandled millions of dollars, according to Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the U.S. capital in Congress…. The audit, conducted by accounting firm BDO Seidman, LLP, found that financial reporting for the city's school system and Medicaid programs did not match their financial statements, making both areas vulnerable to fraud….Altogether, auditors found more than 160 instances where the city failed to comply with conditions for spending federal money, primarily by misreporting funds and mismanaging cash." As of November 2007, it was estimated that over $30 million were scammed by Washington, DC tax officials since 1999. At the height of the scam, half of the property tax refund checks were fraudulent. The average legitimate check was less than $10,000 while the average scam check was over $300,000. "The scandal may also singe BDO Seidman, a private audit firm that gave [Washington DC CFO Natwar] Gandhi its seal of approval earlier this year. Its auditors were paid millions to go over the city’s books and gave Gandhi’s office an unqualified opinion." In 2010, a mentally ill woman, who was not a DC employee was able to exploit a security loophole in DC's financial systems to file tax returns claiming $19.1 million in refunds.[5]
[edit]Monster.com option backdating scandal (1997–2005)
On December 13, 2006, Monster.com filed a $339.6 million restatement of its financial results from 1997–2005 related to intentional fraud in the company's stock option practices. BDO Seidman served as the independent auditor of Monster.com, but it has not been named as a party in either civil or criminal litigation. BDO auditors were provided falsified documents with incorrect option grant dates by Monster employees, but the lack of a complete set of records regarding the company's option grants could, and quite possibly should, have been discovered and identified as a major red flag at some point during the six-year period in which the backdating took place. As a result of the undiscovered fraud, in 1999 and 2000 Monster reported a profit when, in fact, the company lost nearly $40 million.[6]
[edit]New York Law School and Madoff scandal (December 2008)
On December 16, 2008, in connection with the Bernard Madoff scandal, the New York Law School filed a lawsuit against J. Ezra Merkin, Ascot Partners, and its auditor BDO Seidman, after losing its $3 million investment in Ascot. The lawsuit charged Merkin with recklessness, gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duties.[7][8]"
Source of BDO USA, LLP Quotes, How are these Guys still in Business
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