There has been a growing investigation into gifts that Virginia’s governor and wife have secured from businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr. One of the key issues that the FBI is investigating is Governor Bob McDonnell’s ties to a company known as Star Scientific and gifts from its chief executive is Mr. Williams. Questions: 1. Based… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Fraud
Making government contracting pay and pay and pay……..
According to the Washington Post, a federal judge sentenced Kerry F. Khan, the mastermind of a contracting scam of “historic proportions,” to nearly two decades behind bars. This sentence was even more than prosecutors had requested because of the “staggering” scope of the scheme. Questions: 1. What were some of the “red flags” associated with… Read more »
Would you invest in a Bitcoin Fund?
Bitcoin has been promoted as an alternative crypto-currency that exists outside the realms of governments and central banks. Now Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins best known for their part in the history of Facebook, filed a proposal with securities regulators that would allow any investor to trade bitcoins, just as if they were stocks…. Read more »
Pension Predators – A New York Investigation
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ordering New York’s top banking regulator to investigate “pension advance” firms. The payments by these firms are advertised as advances. However, they are really cleverly disguised high interest rate loans that target older citizens’ assets. Questions: 1. What are the benefits for the firms on insisting that they are advances rather… Read more »
JPMorgan Chase: Transition from Model Citizen to Problem Child in the Eyes of the Government
According to The New York Times, government investigators have found that JPMorgan Chase devised “manipulative schemes” that transformed “money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers.” In addition, they allege that one of its most senior executives gave “false and misleading statements” under oath. Questions: 1. Who is Jamie Dimon; who is Blythe Masters? 2. At… Read more »
Austerity Brings about Desperate Times and Desperate Acts
Two penniless Spanish men chopped off their own hands and tried to claim the insurance payout as accidents. Unfortunately for them, both have been exposed as fraudsters because they performed the amputations too well to be accidents. Both cases come amid a steep rise in the number of false insurance claims that have been revealed… Read more »
Academic Fraud
In the summer of 2011, Diederik Stapel was accused of research fraud. It became the lead story in the Netherlands and would dominate headlines for months. Overnight, Stapel went from being a respected professor to perhaps the biggest con man in academic science. Questions: 1. How did Stapel commit the fraud? 2. Why did Stapel… Read more »
Did you know that cash absorbs the smell of marijuana?
John Davis, CEO of Northwest Patient Resource Center, runs two medical marijuana dispensaries in Seattle. In Washington state, Davis runs a legal enterprise that generates thousands of dollars each quarter in state tax revenues. However, since selling pot is still a federal crime and banks are regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, banks are… Read more »
Another Slap in the Face!
The first round of payments covered under the foreclosure settlement against the nation’s largest banks, who were accused of wrongful evictions and other abuses, bounced due to insufficient funds this week. Questions: 1. How long did it take to resolve the federal investigation into the foreclosure abuses? 2. Approximately how many people either delayed cashing… Read more »
Just helping a friend
On Thursday, April 4, federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil charges against fired KPMG accounting partner Scott London for conspiracy to commit securities fraud through insider trading. The accountant provided confidential information about KPMG audit clients Herbalife Ltd., Skechers USA Inc., Uggs maker Deckers Outdoor Corp., RSC Holdings and… Read more »