Tuesday 5th March 2024
Elle McDonald’s informative piece, entitled ‘The menace of charity legacy fraud’ looks at tactics used by fraudsters, preventative measures that can be taken by charities and regulatory frameworks that are in place.
Outlining ways in which charities can be exposed to legacy fraud externally by executors of the donor’s estate, relatives and carers or internally by staff members or volunteers, Elle explained what action charities can take.
“It is advisable for charities to always remain vigilant and look for potential warning signs at every possibility, including the donor having no close family members; slow or no notification of a legacy; unusual or unexplained transactions in the estate accounts and assets or liabilities appearing to be inconsistent with the lifestyle of the donor”, explains Elle, a Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution Team.
“Charities should explore implementing these suggested measures as a starting point. They should recruit qualified or experienced legacy administrators or managers, as they have experience reviewing estate accounts and looking for errors or anomalies, which can be rectified at an early stage.”
Other preventative measures related to obtaining third-party valuations of estate assets and liabilities, carrying out regular internal reviews of legacy files and seeking expert legal advice as a matter of priority if there are any concerns or suspicions.
The piece also has an overview of the ways in which charities should respond to legacy fraud including informing co-beneficiaries, reporting incidents to Action Fraud and regulators.
Read the full article here.
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