Press Release

Washington, DC, -- FBI Director Robert S. Mueller today announced the inception of its Corporate Fraud Hotline as part of the national Corporate Fraud Initiative. This personally manned hotline will provide the general public with the opportunity to furnish information concerning suspected Corporate Fraud matters directly to the FBI in Washington, DC, via our toll-free telephone number, 888-622-0117.

Established by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Division at FBI Headquarters, the national Corporate Fraud Initiative will allow the FBI to maintain and report on all Corporate Fraud Hotline data. Once the information has been entered into the database, FBI analysts will be able to easily review and analyze the information for use in reports and dissemination to the field offices. Through this expanded intelligence gathering effort, the FBI expects the Corporate Fraud Hotline to generate four or five new corporate fraud cases each month. The hotline will be manned Monday through Friday at FBI Headquarters during normal business hours of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. by FBI analysts.

This new initiative includes:

1. the development/enhancement of liaison between FBI field offices and other agencies which investigate fraud matters, such as the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Postal Inspection Service, state attorney generals offices, and state and federal regulatory agencies;
2. the creation of a Corporate Fraud "Reserve Team" to assist field offices in need of investigative assistance in major corporate fraud investigations; and,
3. the hiring of additional Special Agents with the skills needed to efficiently and effectively investigate these types of crimes.

The Corporate Fraud Initiative was established to more effectively focus and coordinate the FBI's White Collar Crime resources on combating the rapidly emerging corporate fraud crime problem. Since initiating the Enron investigation on December 4, 2001, the FBI has opened more than 50 major corporate fraud investigations, including WorldCom, K-mart, America Online, Qwest Communications, Tyco International, Homestores.com, Rite-Aid, and Bristol - Meyers Squibb. The FBI currently has 13 corporate fraud investigations in which the estimated losses to investors exceed $100 million.

Persons with information concerning possible Corporate Fraud activities, including corporate employees, are encouraged to provide that information to the FBI.

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