(By Sri Ramamoorti) In, A.B.C.’s of Behavioral Forensics: Applying Psychology to Financial Fraud Prevention and Detection (Wiley, 2013, see esp. Chapter 6 of the ABC book), my co-authors and I distinguish the predator from the “accidental fraudster,” calling the former the “malignant bad apple” and the latter, the “benign bad apple.” Predators are highly motivated […]
Aaron Beam is the former CFO and co-founder of HealthSouth. For his role in participating in the HealthSouth financial statement fraud in 1996 (soon after which he had left the company), he was prosecuted and sentenced in 2003 to 3 months in a minimum-security prison and had his CPA license revoked. For over 10 years, […]
(When Logic Finishes Second) (By Dr. Joseph W. Koletar) The Wall Street Journal of May 26, 2016 carried the following front-page article: “Deal With Theranos Haunts Walgreens” The article recounts the long and somewhat confusing saga of an old drug store chain and a young “up-start” company called Theranos. In the Spring of 2011, the […]
(By Vic Hartman) Georgia State University Chair of Criminal Justice Richard Wright notes in his recent TEDTalk that there’s a dramatic crime shift from street crime to digital crime. Accordingly, we have a whole new class of victims. In fact, frauds on the Internet are increasing exponentially. In one scam alone, the FBI estimates that […]
—Bethany McLean (By Jack Bigelow) Bethany McLean is one of the foremost business journalists of our time. She uncovered the story of Enron, then covered it by writing (with Peter Elkind), The Smartest Guys in the Room. She explores (with Joe Nocera) the greed and sleaze of the financial crisis in All The Devils Are […]
Aaron Beam is the former CFO and co-founder of HealthSouth. For his role in participating in the HealthSouth financial statement fraud in 1996 (soon after which he had left the company), he was prosecuted and sentenced in 2003 to 3 months in a minimum-security prison and had his CPA license revoked. For over 10 years, […]
(By Joseph W. Koletar) The Economist Magazine of March 26, 2016 carried the following article on p. 85: “Clinical Trials: For my next trick…” It recounts the experience of drug company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) with a drug called Paxil. Coming to market in 1992, it was presented as a treatment for depression. Some years later it […]
(By Dr. Joseph W. Koletar) While there are hundreds of dishonest ways one person can take money from another person they fall into three basic categories. In reverse order of frequency they are: • Force, or Threat of Force (We call these Armed Robbery, Extortion, and Kidnapping); • Stealth (We call these Auto […]
(By Vic Hartman) Two international computer hackers (Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, a/k/a Gribodermon, of Russia, and Hamza Bendelladj, a/k/a Bx1, of Algeria) were recently sentenced in Federal Court in Atlanta to a combined 24 years, six months in prison for their roles in developing and distributing the prolific malware known as SpyEye. The sentences reflect the […]
(By Dr. Joseph W. Koletar) It is not unusual for financial sector brigands to express some remorse once their misdeeds have come to light. Such actions may be lucrative – paid speaking engagements, advising corporate Boards on why they should be more attentive, etc. The Wall Street Journal of April 30 – May 1, 2016 […]