How people rationalize fraud - Kelly Richmond Pope

人们怎样解释欺诈罪 - Kelly Richmond Pope

翻译人员: Haochen Wang 校对人员: Zongzhen Yang

If you ask people whether they think stealing is wrong,

如果你问人们偷窃是否是错误的

most of them would answer, "Yes."

大多数人会回答，“是的。”

And yet, in 2013, organizations all over the world

但在2013年，全世界的机构

lost an estimated total of 3.7 trillion dollars to fraud,

总共因商业欺诈损失3.7万亿美元。

which includes crimes like embezzlement,

这些罪行包括挪用

pyramid schemes,

非法传销

and false insurance claims.

以及虚假医保报销。

This wasn't just the work of a few bad apples.

这不止是某些混蛋的作为。

The truth is that many people are susceptible

事实上，许多人

not only to the temptation to commit fraud

被利益引诱

but to convincing themselves that they've done nothing wrong.

并尝试说服自己没有做错任何事。

So why does fraud happen?

那么，为什么商业欺诈会发生？

While individual motivations may differ from case to case,

虽然真正的动机因人而异

the fraud triangle,

舞弊三角

a model developed by criminologist Donald Cressey,

一名刑事学家克雷西开发的理论模式

shows three conditions that make fraud likely:

阐述三个导致欺诈的因素：

pressure, opportunity, and rationalization.

压力，机会，和借口。

Pressure is often what motivates someone to engage in fraud to begin with.

压力是最初促使人们犯罪的导火索。

It could be a personal debt,

这包括个人债务

an addiction,

上瘾

an earnings quota,

业绩指标

a sudden job loss,

失业危机

or an illness in the family.

或家庭成员的疾病。

As for opportunity, many people in both public and private sectors

至于机会，许多人可以轻易从公营、私营部门

have access to tools that enable them to commit and conceal fraud:

取得实施与掩饰欺诈罪行的手段：

corporate credit cards,

企业信用卡

internal company data,

内部数据

or control over the budget.

或预算控制。

The combination of pressure

当压力以及裸露的机会

and being exposed to such opportunities on a daily basis

在日常的基础上结合

can create a strong temptation.

强大的邪念会被引发。

But even with these two elements,

但就算有了这两种因素

most fraud still requires rationalization.

多数欺诈罪还需要借口。

Many fraudsters are first time offenders,

很多行骗者属于初犯

so in order to commit an act most would regard as wrong,

因此他们必须解释自己的

they need to justify it to themselves.

犯罪行为。

Some feel entitled to the money because they are underpaid and overworked

一些工资低、工作多的人认为这笔赃钱是应得的

and others believe their fraud is victimless,

而其他人表示这是无受害人的案件

perhaps even planning to return the money once their crisis is resolved.

并坚信自己会在处理好个人危机后，归还这笔钱。

Some of the most common types of fraud

一些罪犯甚至不清楚

don't even register as such to the perpetrator.

自己的罪行。

Examples include employees fudging time sheets or expense reports,

例子包括员工捏造表格以及费用报告

taxpayers failing to report cash earnings,

纳税人漏报现金收益

or service providers overbilling insurance companies.

或服务提供商超额计费保险公司。

Though these may seem small,

虽然这些案件看起来很渺小

and can sometimes only involve hundreds of dollars,

并只牵涉几百美元

they all contribute to the big picture.

它们展现的是一个普遍的现象。

And then there's fraud on a massive scale.

其次别忘了大规模的欺诈罪。

In 2003, Italian dairy food giant Parmalat went bankrupt

在2003年, 一家名为帕玛拉特的意大利乳业巨头宣布破产

after it was found to have fabricated a 4 billion dollar bank account

起因牵涉到40亿美元银行存款的捏造

and falsified financial statements

与财务报告的篡改

to hide the fact that its subsidiaries had been losing money.

从而去隐藏子公司的经济损失。

Because it was family controlled,

由于这是家族企业

corporate governance and regulator supervision were difficult,

企业治理和监督管理相较困难

and the company likely hoped that the losses could be recouped

帕玛拉特于是尝试在败露之前

before anyone found out.

弥补损失。

And it's not just corporate greed.

但这不只是企业贪婪的问题。

Governments and non-profits are also susceptible to fraud.

政体和非营利机构同样会被困进诈骗危机。

During her time as City Comptroller for Dixon, Illinois,

作为伊利诺斯州迪克森市的主计长

Rita Crundwell embezzled over 53 million dollars.

丽塔·克伦德维尔挪用了5300万美元的资金。

Rita was one of the country's leading quarter horse breeders

丽塔曾是美国有名的夸特马驯马者

and winner of 52 world championships.

以及52次世界锦标赛的冠军。

But the cost of maintaining the herd ran to 200,000 dollars per month.

但供养畜群的费用高达每月20万。

Because her position gave her complete control over city finances,

因为她的职位容许市级财政的全面掌握

she was easily able to divert money

她可以轻易挪用公款

to an account she used for private expenses,

到私人帐户以便个人消费

and the scheme went unnoticed for 20 years.

并持续这项诡计20年。

It is believed that Crundwell felt entitled to a lavish lifestyle

据说克伦德维尔的职务使她

based on her position,

享身于奢侈的生活方式

and the notoriety her winnings brought to the city.

以及胜利带来的荣誉。

It's tempting to think of fraud as a victimless crime

同等欺诈于无受害人的案件是个可观的想法

because corporations and civic institutions aren't people.

毕竟企业与民间机构不是人。

But fraud harms real people in virtually every case:

但欺诈罪通常触犯并涉及到老百姓：

the employees of Parmalat who lost their jobs,

帕玛拉特的员工因此失业

the citizens of Dixon whose taxes subsidized horse breeding,

迪克森市的市民需支出税金来资助养马业

the customers of companies which raise their prices to offset losses.

顾客们面临各大公司的提价去弥补损失。

Sometimes the effects are obvious and devestating,

很多时候，这影响是显著并具有毁灭性的

like when Bernie Madoff caused thousands of people to lose their life savings.

比如伯尼•麦道夫的行为曾导致上千人的生活储蓄流失。

But often they're subtle and not easy to untangle.

但常常，这罪行又狡猾又很难被揭发。

Yet someone, somewhere is left holding the bill.

不过，在某一处，某人绝对会承担该有的责任。