Choosing between discipline, termination, settlement and prosecution once fraud is substantiated is the decision that converts an investigation into an outcome, and each path carries distinct legal, financial, reputational and deterrent consequences. For a board this matters because the choice shapes recovery prospects, employment-claim risk, regulatory perception, and the signal sent to the rest of the workforce, often under pressure to simply make the problem disappear. This report explains how these decisions are weighed in your chosen jurisdiction and industry, the employment, criminal-referral and settlement frameworks that attach, the trade-offs experienced leaders consider between deterrence and discretion, realistic ranges for the cost of each route, and guidance on aligning counsel, HR and the board so the resolution is principled, consistent, and defensible rather than merely expedient.
Reference material for informed readers, not advice.
