ABSTRACT
Two 2 × 2 experiments are used to investigate both sides of a fraud event, the fraudster and the whistleblower, in which an individual with access to hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) offers to sell or give masks to a patient. The COVID-19 pandemic added incentives to health care providers and increased opportunities for asset misappropriations. We found the patient’s need for the PPE influenced the fraudster’s decision to misappropriate masks from the hospital to give them free of charge to the patient, but did not influence the decision to sell them to the patient or the patient’s decision to report the fraud. Altruism and risk taking, but not the employer’s financial instability, also influenced the likelihood of fraud. Moral courage and the mask offer (free or for a price) influenced the patient’s decision to report the fraud.
