SPOKANE -- Last year we told you about a group of Gonzaga University students helping hunt down white collar criminals in a groundbreaking new program. Those students just earned their first conviction after meticulously uncovering one man's paper trail of theft.
Victims inside the Spokane County Courthouse witnessed justice they feared would never materialize. Curtis Wasson admitted to swindling nearly $6,000 from the Hillyard chapter of the Knights of Columbus. He also said he took almost $18,000 from the Spokane North Lions Club where he was treasurer.
$18,000 siphoned from their account put North Lions Club in a hole. Members suddenly had no money to fuel their passion to provide people in need with eye glasses and hearing aids.
Aside from an overdrawn account, the club found itself in an all-too prevalent predicament. It would cost upwards of $20,000 to pay for the kind of forensic accounting exam needed to prove Wasson made off with the money. The North Lions, like most non-profits or small businesses, couldn't pay for a service like that. But there was another way. It was a free way to catch the criminal.
The Justice for Fraud Victims Project is the first of its kind in the nation. Top level Gonzaga accounting students get college credit to comb over suspected cooked books. They examine bank statements, bills and canceled checks to find evidence of embezzlement.
"They are out there. They are helping a real victim. They're looking at real books and records and they're able to take what they're learning in the classroom and bring it out to the community and actually use it to provide a good service," said Gonzaga University Accounting Professor Sara Melendy.
The college crime fighters do the digital digging. But they do have teammates. Their work is supervised by Spokane Police, school faculty, local certified fraud examiners and more.
In this case, the accounting students discovered Treasurer Wasson wrote dozens of checks from the Lions account made payable to himself.
The team finally got their first conviction. Now the Lions Club members, who do so much to help so many others, can finally speak freely and clearly to someone they thought they knew.
Wasson qualified for what is called the first time offender waiver. He will not serve time but he will pay penalties along with restitution to the victims. Gonzaga has already received two national awards for its groundbreaking Justice for Fraud Victims Project.
Schools in several other states are now looking to model programs after Gonzaga's.
