Interesting reading for BI and HR folks....

MARQUET INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Investigative, Litigation Support & Due Diligence Professionals
1
Resume Fraud: The Top 10 Lies
RESUME FRAUD: THE TOP 10 LIES
By Christopher T. Marquet, CEO, Marquet International Ltd. and Lisa J.B. Peterson
Patrick Couwenberg appeared to be the obvious choice for a judicial appointment to the Los Angeles Superior Court
in 1997. According to his resume, Mr. Couwenberg led an impressive life marked by advanced education,
undercover government operations, and combat heroism. He regularly described his experiences in the Vietnam
War, during which he said he was awarded a Purple Heart. He claimed that he had attended the prestigious
California Institute of Technology on the G.I. Bill, as well as the Loyola Law School and California State University,
Los Angeles, where he was awarded a Master’s Degree in Psychology. Mr. Couwenberg also claimed that he had
been recruited from the Navy to the Army, where he attained the rank of corporal and that he was also recruited by
the CIA for covert operations in Southeast Asia between 1968 and 1969 and in Africa in 1984. He also claimed
experience in private legal practice, which rounded out this apparently remarkable career.
The only problem with Mr. Couwenberg’s representations was that they were nearly all lies.
Mr. Couwenberg was removed from the bench in August of 2001 after extensive public hearings. It was determined
that while he did serve in the Navy Reserves, he never served in the Army, in any capacity, nor was he engaged in
combat in the Vietnam War and was never awarded a Purple Heart. It was California Polytechnic State University
where he was awarded his undergraduate degree rather than the prestigious CalTech (and not on the G.I. Bill). He
attended La Verne and Western Law Schools (neither of which were accredited), not Loyola Law School. He never
attended Cal State, Los Angeles, and does not, in fact, hold a Master’s Degree from any school. The dates he
claimed to have studied at Cal State were fabricated to hide the fact that he did not pass the bar exam until his fifth
try. CIA officials denied Couwenberg was ever employed by the Agency and the law practice for which Mr.
Couwenberg claims to have worked in 1976 does not have a record of him.
It may seem shocking that a high-profile individual in such an important position would be able to fool so many
people. After all, not only did Mr. Couwenberg represent these claims in countless casual conversations, his signed
Judicial Data Questionnaire included this information. This begs the question; didn’t anyone ever check his
background before appointing him as a Superior Court Judge? The answer, obviously, is no. This example is
particularly appalling, since trustworthiness and honesty are important characteristics for judges in the courts of our
nation. We expect these traits in our corporate executives as well. Unfortunately, many corporations still rely on the
“old boys’ network” and the word of a headhunter – relaxing standards when someone comes highly recommended.
As a firm that vets numerous corporate executives, conducts extensive due diligence investigations of corporate
directors and management teams, we see an astonishing amount of resume fraud. When executive lies go
unchecked, an organization can be tremendously damaged and embarrassed by negative press, lost revenue, loss of
reputation and plunging stock prices.
Based upon our experience and extensive research, we have identified the ten most common resume lies and have
provided some advice on how to deal with them.
1. Stretching Dates of Employment
Stretching dates of past employment or even inventing jobs to cover real gaps in employment is the most common
type of resume fraud. When verifying the facts by contacting prior employers, alarms should sound when the dates of
employment given by the applicant do not match the dates of employment in the records of the employer. What is the
applicant hiding? Typically, the false dates cover anything from an extended stretch of unemployment, to a job from
which they were fired to jail time. This is not something to be taken lightly.
2. Inflating Past Accomplishments & Skills
According to his curriculum vitae, Warren Cook was Vice President of Government Relations and Special Projects at
The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was once the owner of Sugarloaf/USA ski resort. He was
appointed co-chair of Governor John Baldacci’s Transition Advisory Council when the Governor took office. Mr. Cook
has been recognized as one of Maine’s leading business figures. In addition to his impressive professional career,
Mr. Cook also earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts, earned the prestigious Navy Cross for
his service in Vietnam, and played on the 1968 U.S. Olympic hockey team.
MARQUET INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Investigative, Litigation Support & Due Diligence Professionals
2
Resume Fraud: The Top 10 Lies
Only he didn’t.
While Mr. Cook’s professional career was impressive, he resigned from The Jackson Laboratory after admitting he
lied on his resume about receiving the Navy Cross and playing on the 1968 U.S. Olympic hockey team. He later
admitted that he also did not receive a Master’s Degree from UMass.
Past accomplishments, professional skills, language fluency and proficiency in such areas as computer skills are
more difficult for a company to verify than areas like professional and educational histories. As such, applicants often
inflate their resumes in these areas. One way past accomplishments can be verified is through media reports.
Another way is to speak to former colleagues and managers. As for skill sets, if it is germane to the position,
companies may choose to incorporate a test into the application process through which these professional skills and
proficiencies can be verified.
3. Enhancing Job Titles & Responsibilities
It is quite common for applicants to tailor a resume to a specific prospective employer’s needs. There is a fine line
between tailoring a resume to highlight those aspects of the applicant’s history that would be most interesting to the
potential employer and lying about a former job title or responsibilities at that job. However, this line is often crossed
and potential employers should be aware of this. Be sure to confirm positions held and the responsibilities of that
position through interviews of colleagues and superiors.
4. Education Exaggeration & Fabricating Degrees
Many high-profile examples of degree fabrication and misstatements about education have surfaced in the media
over the past several years. Sandra Baldwin had to resign her position at the head of the US Olympic Committee in
2000 over falsified educational background. Likewise, Laura Callahan, who was hired as a Senior Director in the US
Department of Homeland Security, was forced to resign in 2004 when it was revealed that her “degree” was actually
from an online diploma mill. A review of 2.6 million job applications in 2001 by ADP revealed that 41% of the
applicants lied about their education in some form. Many of the “diploma mills” now provide toll-free phone numbers
for their “students” to provide prospective employers – which will provide everything from grades in specific (but
fictitious) classes to a fake graduation date and fabricated honors received by the applicant. Prospective employers
must identify the school online, rather than calling a number provided to them by the applicant, particularly if the
employer does not recognize the school name.
5. Unexplained Gaps & Periods of “Self Employment”
Pay attention to gaps or periods of self-employment on resumes. Have the applicant describe exactly what occurred
during this time period and verify the applicant’s story. Again, these unexplained gaps could be covering something
that would be dangerous for a company to take on – a job that ended very badly for the applicant, or a criminal
history. Finally, it is crucial to check for a criminal record for the applicant at each of the addresses where he or she
has lived, and especially so when there are unexplained gaps in the applicant’s resume.
6. Omitting Past Employment
In 1996, Sunbeam Corp. a home appliance maker based in Boca Raton, Florida, recruited and hired Al “Chainsaw”
Dunlap for its Chief Executive position. Two years later, Sunbeam’s directors had “lost confidence” in Mr. Dunlap and
he was fired. In 2001, while Mr. Dunlap prepared to defend himself in two court cases, one brought by Sunbeam
shareholders and one by the S.E.C., both related to accounting fraud. Information became available that Mr. Dunlap
had omitted two previous jobs from his resume. Both jobs occurred much earlier in his career – and the most
shocking news to Sunbeam is the reason Mr. Dunlap omitted these employers from his resume - he was fired from
both of these jobs amid allegations of accounting fraud.
7. Faking Credentials
Some applicants believe that a professional license or membership may boost their chances for obtaining a desired
position and simply add them to their resume. In fact, the 2001 ADP study revealed that 23% of the applicants
falsified credentials or licenses on their resumes. Most licensing bodies and professional groups have a website
and/or a phone number that will verify the applicant’s standing with the group. It is important to not only verify
whether the applicant is licensed or a member, but also are they currently in good standing? Have they been the
subject of any censures or disciplinary actions?
MARQUET INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Investigative, Litigation Support & Due Diligence Professionals
3
Resume Fraud: The Top 10 Lies
8. Fabricating Reasons for Leaving Previous Job
According to a recent survey by HireRight, 11% of applicants misrepresent the reason for leaving a previous job. In
March of 1998, T’Challa Ross was recruited by Robert Half International Inc. as a temporary bookkeeper for Fox
Associates Inc., a small Chicago advertising firm. She performed so well that she was hired permanently after 30
days. Ms. Ross then proceeded to take blank checks from her employer, forge signatures, and succeeded in
embezzling $70,688 between the fall of 1998 and the fall of 1999. While this caught her employer off guard, it should
not have come as a surprise. Just two months before she began working for Fox Associates, Ms. Ross pled guilty to
stealing $192,873 from a previous employer and was sentenced to (only) four years of probation and 100 hours of
community service.
Ms. Ross’ background could have been determined by checking her criminal history and by calling her previous
employers and inquiring whether she was eligible for rehire. If an employee is not eligible for rehire, an automatic red
flag should go up and further inquiry is required.
9. Providing Fraudulent References
Fraud related to references seems to take many different forms. The most common involve the applicant submitting
partial or incorrect information related to their references, perhaps in the hope that the potential employer will find it
too time consuming to search for the complete information, and therefore not check the reference.
Reference checking is an area, however, where fraud becomes very creative. The applicant may submit a prepared
reference letter, which the applicant may have created themselves, on their home computer. It is important, in this
case, to reach out to the reference over the phone to verify that the reference wrote the reference letter and ask any
additional questions that may apply. Similarly, if the applicant so desires to commit this type of fraud, he or she may
pay a service that will provide a phone number for the applicant to submit to a potential employer. When the
employer calls the provided phone number, they reach a service, which will verify the applicant’s (false) former
employment. As with education verifications, it is important to search the internet for the company’s main phone
number rather than taking a phone number provided by the applicant at face value.
Finally, in a similar vein, the applicant may provide a phone number which points to either a friend or family member,
or even to the applicant’s own phone number! It never hurts to attempt to verify this provided phone number with the
main phone number of the company.
10. Misrepresenting Military Record
Joseph Cafasso was supposed to be a war hero. He claimed to have won the Silver Star for bravery, served in
Vietnam and was part of the secret, failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980. He had spent years as a
Lieutenant Colonel in the Special Forces. He had also been an organizer for the presidential campaign of Patrick
Buchanan. Mr. Cafasso used his war experience and stories to make prestigious contacts throughout the ranks of
the military and the government. Fox News was excited to hire Mr. Cafasso as a consultant to help in its coverage of
the fighting in Afghanistan in late 2001.
Four months later, he left the network following allegations that he had overstepped his bounds. Mr. Cafasso had
been able to connect Fox News with his high-profile contacts throughout the government. Since so many people at
the Pentagon appeared to trust him, Fox News did not feel it was necessary to check his background. Fox News was
shocked to find, shortly after Mr. Cafasso’s departure, that he was not a war hero at all – in fact, the extent of his
military background was 44 days of basic training in 1976.
Military service may be the most difficult part of a resume to verify. The employer needs to contact the National
Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The turn-around time for obtaining military records on an individual
is often twelve weeks. Given the lag time, it is advisable to make employment offers contingent upon the receipt of
verifying military records.
When it comes to resumes and employment applications, there is a simple three-step program for potential
employers: Verify, Verify and Verify. By doing so, companies can increase the quality