Animal artist joining company involved in swindle (7)
I believe the answer is:
raccoon
'animal' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'artist joining company involved in swindle' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'joining' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'company' becomes 'co' (abbreviation).
'involved in' is an insertion indicator.
'swindle' becomes 'con' (con is a kind of swindle**).
'co' put into 'con' is 'ccoon'.
'ra'+'ccoon'='RACCOON'
(Other definitions for raccoon that I've seen before include "North American omnivore" , "Mammal with pointed muzzle and long tail" , "Greyish-brown American mammal" , "Smallish mammal" , "North American mammal with a ringed tail" .)