Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who was convicted of fraud in 2006, was just the tip of the iceberg, according to West Virginia University professor Stephen Silver.

Silver, an expert in forensic accounting and fraud investigation, says corporate fraud is rampant, worldwide and on the rise.

He will present three seminars during March and April to highlight the reasons and methods used in corporate cheating schemes and how bribery and corruption are entering the workplace. The presentations are free and open to the public.

Introduction to Fraudwill be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 17, in Eiesland Hall Room G24 on WVU s Downtown Campus. The presentation will provide insight into why people perpetrate fraud, how they rationalize their fraudulent activity and provide an assessment for the opportunity to detect fraud. Silver will also outline the three types of fraud and show how collusive fraud cannot be prevented using case studies.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, Silver will presentFinancial Statement Fraud and Fraud Risk Assessmentsin Room 459 of the College of Business and Economics Building. He will discuss how fraudulent financial statements are concealed and provide insight into where this type of fraud is most likely to be committed.

Finally, Silver will presentBribery and Corruption and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Actat 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in Room 458 of the College of Business and Economics Building. Using examples from recent news, he will demonstrate how bribery is perpetrated and concealed using cash slush funds. He will also provide an overview of U.S. laws on bribery and the implications on corporations and individuals.

Silver, who taught a six-week fraud workshop at WVU last fall, is associate director of the forensic accounting and fraud investigation graduate program at WVU s College of Business and Economics. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds licenses in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois and was a lead partner of an international CPA firm that conducted investigations into the dormant Swiss bank accounts of holocaust victims.

Silver has 42 years of experience as a practicing CPA and has spent the past 23 years specializing in financial statement fraud, forensic accounting, fraud investigation, bribery and worldwide corruption investigation.