Virtue Ethics: Case Assignment: 'Check Kiting'

An ethical virtue is a habit that you inclined toward. Virtue is not simply one isolated action but an overall habit of acting in a certain way. To be virtuous, a person must knowingly and deliberately be conscious of the

The first theory I will compare virtue ethics against is ethical egoism. The two theories share a commonality apart from being normative in nature. They both seek what is best for the doer. Aristotle claimed that happiness is ultimately attained by striving for the “function of man” which is the excellence found within virtue. This is comparable to ethical egoism because of it’s principle of exclusively acting in one’s own best interest. While virtue ethics states that a virtuous character is the goal, ethical egoism is not specific to what is in a person’s best interest. If attaining a virtuous character is

Three women from Cleveland were discovered conducting a scheme where they were found to be orchestrating a check kiting scheme. The three women attempted to run the money through a casino called The Horseshoe Casino and then withdrawal the money. The women were individually charged with multiple attempts to commit bank fraud. Two of the women forged checks and withdrew the money as cash. The ladies also passed bad checks and stole from banks. The group also used outside individuals to open bank accounts and pass over debit cards to women in the group. Their fraudulent actions accounted to total to 165,000 dollars. The fraud committed by the group of ladies is known as check kiting. The ladies fraudulent activity was discovered by special agents

Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches in ethics. This approach of ethics emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to other approaches which emphasizes duties or rules. Virtue ethics has three central concepts; virtue, practical wisdom, and eudemonia, however, these are often misunderstood. The three approaches of ethics are virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics, and deontology ethics. Each approach provides a different way to understanding ethics.

Any Kind Checks did not have prior notice of the check being dishonored by Mr. Talcott when Guarino attempted to cash it. However, because of its value, they show that they had reason to contact the maker for approval. It is also reasonable for Any Kind to take Mr. Guarino’s actions as suspect. As is pointed out in the brief, why would a small business owner, particularly one who is a broker of investments, utilize a check cashing business for this transaction rather than a traditional financial institution? This question in and of itself should give cause for concern to Any Kind considering their policy that any check over $2,000 requires approval. A revision to Article 3 of the UCC added a provision for not only “honesty in fact,” but also for the “observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing.” Because a reasonable party could reasonably consider Guarino’s actions as suspect, and outside of the commercial standards of fair dealing, the burden of proof is significantly higher in showing good faith and fairness toward all parties (including the maker of the instrument).

It's now been a month and my first check, has come in the mail. He put it in a manila envelope. I opened it, and like Rob promised, there was a ten separate checks for $1,000. I thought out my plan. I would redeem all of these, separately. One every week, on a friday. Which was today. That way it would seem like it was from a job. Wait, what about my job? I couldn't deposit 2 checks, every other week. There had to be a better way. And there was. I could just open up a separate checking account, at a different bank. There we go. I would go to the bank, next to the grocery store, and deposit these checks

Over the few decades, Wells Fargo had built up a reputation detaching itself from the likes of Wall Street by putting their customers first before money. However, one cannot help but think that Wells Fargo put money before customers as their aggressive sales goals led to the opening of unauthorized accounts without customer knowledge. During this fiasco, which dates back to 2011, Wells Fargo employees had opened as many as 2 million of false accounts in real customer’s names without the proper consent. An integral part of the problem were senior executives and management staff involved. Either they overlooked this growing scandal by turning a blind eye, or partook in it themselves, but both ways there is responsibility to be claimed, and guilt to be measured here.

Banks also involved in international banking through the foreign exchange market. By trading in these markets banks often can reduce their risk. So wells Fargo bank can reduce their risk by involving in this trading. The Lack of control in management are the main responsible of these kind unethical acts. Wells Fargo should take a useful action against their employees, not only firing them, but also control and giving well training about the customer service and above all banking. They should train professionally, which means besides the business employees should take decision ethically. Because “a business mindset leads to dishonesty and lack of consideration for other things like moral issues”

Banks are able to prevent kiting from occurring by placing a hold on checks over a certain dollar amount. This will ensure the funds are legit and valid. Banks are also able to watch for multiple check deposits and checks written with the same dollar amount. In addition, banks can require a bank officer’s approval on any drawings against uncollected funds, overdrafts, or wire transfers, they also should perform daily reporting of all drafts against uncollected funds. Kiting can be detoured, however banks must ensure they have the proper internal controls in place to ensure they do not fall victim to kiting.

Anyone discovered by the bank during routine checks with a similar banking pattern can be charged with structuring. However, unlike the Civil Forfeiture Laws, there is a clause to help the average citizen going against the government.

Nowadays, we have modernized banks many in trust their money in. The banks lends money to customers at a higher rate than they pay to depositors or than they borrow it. The difference, known as the margin is kept by the bank. For example, if a bank pays 1% interest on deposits they may charge 6% interest on loans grossing 5% for themselves. Moreover, bank employees from Wells Fargo secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses. Not only is this identity theft, however, it shines even more light on how the love of money is the root of all evil. Lastly, banks

In today’s society, white collar crime is now becoming more widely known because of the advancement of technological devices and brilliant minds. In fact, over 730,000 counts of suspected financial wrongoing were recorded in America last year, according to recent data from the Treasury Department 's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (The Economist, 2009). White Collar Crime is a term reportedly coined in 1939—is now synonymous with the full range of frauds committed by business and government professionals including one of the many called “Check Kiting” (FBI, 2010). White collar crime is described by the federal bureau investigation (FBI) in three words: Lying, cheating, and stealing which is exactly the kind of people that Scott in this case analysis has to deal with. In this case, the Operations Manager, Scott at a small bank has the duties of overseeing transactions and defining clients who use bad checks. While going through the daily routine, he finds that his wife’s friend, who is the chief financial officer of the bank, appears to be involved in check kiting. According to the business dictionary, check Kiting is a form of check fraud, in which checks are issued against funds that a bank has credited into an account for deposited, uncleared checks. With careful timing of deposits and withdrawals, this scam can be turned into a large sum. Furthermore, In addition to knowing the suspect, Scott also is aware the CFO is also involved in an unsteady

An individual’s virtue ethics does not depend on the society that they live in, the spirituality that they follow, or their culture/upbringing; but they depend exclusively on the individuals themselves. Aristotle introduced moral ethics theory in his Nicomachean Ethics books. The idea of ethics is questioning long term goals, ‘what sort of person do I want to be’ instead of instantaneous decisions that question ‘what should I do in this situation?’ Virtues are not so much to do with right or wrong but rather where that decision is coming from. What is in the heart of the person that answers/acts is what matters in the virtuous world. Instead of concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how you can be a better person. According to Aristotle this pursuit of constantly trying to improve one’s self to be a better person is what true happiness is in life, as he underlines in his own definition of happiness: “happiness is a certain activity of the soul in conformity with perfect virtue.” (1) (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book 1).

Tiffany should handle this situation like she would any other check kiter case. She can call the dishonest woman, tactfully inform her that the bounced check processing fees will need to be paid or the debt will go to collections and her account closed. Being a financial officer at another bank, the dishonest woman is definitely aware of what she is doing and the risk of her bad choices. Tiffany would be giving her the opportunity to correct her mistakes before further actions take place. Next, Tiffany could discuss the situation with her boss and let him know what is happening. She could she is sorry that the situation is happening but that she had no choice but to address it and hopes that “the woman” will do the right thing. Finally,

If I knew the risk for fraud in the cash account was relatively high I would first test the internal controls of Wally’s. I would look at segregation of duties with respect to handling cash. Who is handling cash coming in? Who is confirming cash drops? Who is depositing the cash? Who is sending cash out? It would also be beneficial to look at all confirmations and signatures regarding cash. I would test each internal control and determine if Management implements these controls. It would also be beneficial to determine the tone at the top regarding their pressure on management and/or staff.