Hector Orlansky, the former CEO of E.S. Bankest, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his part in one of the biggest bank frauds ever seen in South Florida. The losses in the case neared $167 million, and the judge said the lengthy prison term was because the fraud was so large.

Orlansky and his brother Eduardo used their financial services firm to defraud Banco Espirito Santo in Portugal. The firm was started in 1998, and it was in the business of factoring – buying accounts receivable from companies at a discount. E.S. Bankest defrauded the Portuguese bank by inflating the value of the accounts it bought and by presenting fake audited financial statements to the bank.

7 people in addition to the brothers have pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial.

Judd Bagley, Director of Communications at Overstock.com and loyal sidekick of wacky CEO Patrick Byrne, is threatening to “expose” BloggingStocks blogger Zac Bissonette on his antisocialmedia website. Judd maintains the website to scare people who dare ask questions about or criticize Overstock.

Why is Zac his latest victim of threats? He and a fellow blogger started Hedge Funnies, a blog that makes fun of the antics on Wall Street. Zac is a fantastic blogger, by the way, and does a great job of exposing some of the dirt on public companies. And he’s only a teenager. Yes, that’s impressive!

Judd Bagley and Patrick Byrne have a vested interest in shutting up critics of Overstock, and apparently, they have no sense of humor either. Following a few posts on Hedge Funnies that had many of us rolling on the floor, Judd threatened Zac with an expose on his antisocialmedia site:

Usana Health Sciences is throwing its latest temper tantrum at being exposed for the fraud it is. National Business Review reporter Helen Malmgren reported a few weeks ago on the Usana scam. Usana has replied with a letter that is little more than another “Barry Minkow lies” tale, with nothing of substance behind it.

Malmgren has summarily sliced and diced this ridiculous letter and it will be interesting to see how Usana does with this one. They haven’t done so well before. Please note that Malmgren is now reporting from an Federal Bureau of Investigation source that Usana is under investigation by the FBI.

The magnified role of Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) as today’s leaders in the fight against fraud is the subject of a new episode of The Profiles Series, airing nationwide Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at 7:00 a.m. (EST & PST) on Bravo (as a sponsored educational program). The program spotlights the efforts of these experts who, as members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), are the first line of defense against corporate fraud and abuse.

Hosted by Lou Gossett Jr. and featuring interviews with ACFE founder and Chairman Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, and former chair of the ACFE Board of Regents Corey Anne Bloom, CFE, CA, CA•IFA the episode highlights the devastating impacts of fraud and the urgent need for its detection and prevention.

Convicted felon Walt Pavlo discusses his role in the largest bankruptcy fraud in American history. While top corporate executives at MCI/Worldcom were cooking the company’s books, Pavlo had a scheme of his own to defraud the company of millions of dollars.

The MCI/WorldCom fraud and millions of others were investigated by CFEs. As experts in the four major areas of fraud (financial transactions, legal elements of fraud, fraud investigation, and criminology and ethics), CFEs are recognized as leaders in the global anti-fraud community. More than 19,000 CFEs are actively fighting fraud today, making a huge impact in business and government.

The Profiles Series was created to educate consumers and business professionals on the issues which impact them. Programs have previously been broadcast on Discovery Channel, CNN, The Patient Channel, in national syndication, and on the US Government’s Voice of America Television. www.profilesseries.com