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Fast Track Program
Many offices of local and state prosecuting agencies and the United States Attorney's Office, (through the Assistant U.S. Attorney's Offices,) maintain special prosecution programs called "Fast Track" that may benefit your institution.
"Fast Track" programs are designed to address the dramatic increase in the number of fraud and embezzlement investigations in financial institutions.
The prosecuting agencies recognized several years ago that many cases of embezzlement and theft are not prosecuted because of the tremendous demand that the increased number of cases has placed upon law enforcement agencies' resources.
To promote the prosecution of "small dollar loss" cases, the prosecuting agencies established these special programs. They can then process multiple cases through the court system as a group, at specific times.
Many law enforcement agencies participate in these special crime task forces that target certain offenders for special treatment-from investigation through sentencing.
The general criteria for participating in Fast Track prosecutions, which may vary slightly from region to region, are:
The crime must have been committed by an employee, regardless of the amount of the loss; or
The crime must have been committed by a non-employee and the monetary loss meets a specific "threshold" ($5,000-$1,000,000) established in advance by the prosecuting agency;
The offender must be positively identified;
The offender has either admitted to being responsible (signed confession) or the existing evidence against the offender is overwhelming (e.g., fingerprint match, photographic identification or eyewitness testimony); or
The offender is known by the prosecuting agency to have committed multiple prosecutable offenses within this jurisdiction.
Participating in a Fast Track program is relatively simple. When you have finished your investigation but before you file your SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) - call the Assistant U.S. Attorney and ask if your case qualifies for Fast Track treatment.
If it does, write that information on the SAR and forward a copy of the SAR to the prosecutor to whom you spoke. Be prepared to testify for your financial institution if it becomes necessary.
Copyright © 1997 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 7, No. 8, 7/97
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