COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) — The South Carolina State Grand Jury returned 125 counts in seven separate indictments alleging Keiron Murray committed nearly $1.4 million in auto loan scams, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced.
The indictments allege that Murray used various small dealerships to obtain fraudulent loans from banks for vehicles that were never in the dealerships’ or the supposed purchaser’s possession. Murray would then allegedly steal the loan proceeds.
“Millions of dollars of fraudulent auto loans are a cost that is ultimately borne by consumers throughout South Carolina,” Wilson said. “While accountability for these crimes fundamentally rests on the fraudsters committing them, banking institutions can do a better job of detecting fraud through the loan application process, particularly online. Moreover, more can be done to identify and shut down the various small auto…
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.