ATLANTA (ANF/Gray News) – A former scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is accused of stealing $1 million in grant money, authorities said.
Paul Thorsen is facing 22 counts of wire fraud and money laundering related to an alleged scheme to steal CDC grant money for research on infant disabilities, autism, genetic disorders and fetal alcohol syndrome.
From February 2004 to February 2010, officials said, Thorsen allegedly executed a scheme to steal grants the CDC had awarded to the Danish Medical Research Council.
Thorsen was working as a visiting scientist at the CDC’s Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities before the grant was awarded.
“That included the relationship between vaccines and autism, it included cerebral…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.