Accountant fraud (or corporate accounting scandals) often occurs as a result of an accountant not disclosing factual statements to their clients (individuals or businesses) about the state of their finances. This can include overstating finances, understating finances, omitting financial information, etc. This kind of "creative accountant" can often lead to clients and businesses recognizing that something is amiss in their finances which can normally lead to an fraud investigation. Many accountant scandals are a direct result of accountants simply pocketing their client's funds and lying to to their clients about where the money is going. In most securities fraud lawsuit cases, the clients are duped into thinking that everything is as it should be when in fact it is not. In reality their finances are actually dwindling due to accountants pocketing their cash. In many of these cases, the accountants are actually using their clients funds as a means to live a more wealthier lifestyle than they can actually afford. The clients usually end up losing a significant amount of money as a result of this type of fraud. Many times the amount is significant, due to the trusting relationship the clients develop with their accountant.