The City of Casey: A Blazing Fraud

This case involves cash theft at the City of Casey, a small town in Iowa. To avoid detection in an impending audit, the city clerk set the administrative offices on fire. The State Auditor’s Office performed an investigation and discovered misappropriations of about $300,000. This case allows students to analyze a fraud in a local governmental unit where limited resources and incompatible duties are common within the accounting function. The loss of documentary evidence challenges investigation of the fraud and provides students with an opportunity to discuss forensic accounting. The primary case objectives are (1) to identify risks and related fraud perpetration methods, (2) identify useful sources of evidence when original source documents and accounting records are missing, and (3) provide recommendations to minimize fraud risk. This case can be used in fraud and audit courses.