Lennar Corp: Being right feels so good
On January 7, 2009, Barry Minkow and the Fraud Discovery Institute issued an initial report on Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN), citing 10 Red Flags of Fraud. Lennar immediately came forward and called FDI and its investigators liars, saying in one press release:
Today convicted felon Barry Minkow, acting as an agent for a disgruntled [...]
Marquette University Alumni National Awards
I am being presented with one of the Marquette University Alumni National Awards in April. I am honored!
College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management
Entrepreneurial Award
Tracy L. Coenen, Arts ‘93, Grad ‘96
Tracy Coenen may not know where the bodies are buried, but she knows how to follow the numbers. When it comes to forensic [...]
The heart of the Milwaukee Public Schools problem: Employee costs
Every year we hear how Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has a budget problem. We’re told they simply don’t have enough money to operate the school system. That is an outright lie.
Every year they increase spending. Here is a breakdown of the budget and enrollment by year:
The 07-08 budget was $1.19 billion. The 08-09 budget was [...]
Medifast lawsuit update
A few weeks ago, Medifast Inc. (NYSE:MED) sued Barry Minkow, his Fraud Discovery Institute, me, my corporation, William Lobdell (a journalist working with Barry), Robert FitzPatrick (an expert witness on mutli-level marketing and pyramid schemes), and an anonymous message board poster (good luck with that).
Medifast sued us for daring to say that their Take Shape [...]
More fallout from Koss fraud, but Michael Koss stays on Strattec board
The latest news related to the $31 million fraud committed by Koss Corp.’s ex-VP of Finance Sue Sachdeva is activity at Strattec. Laughably, Michael Koss was the chairman of Strattec’s audit committee since 2003. In January, he was removed as head of that committee, but still remains on the board and on the audit committee. [...]
This is why welfare sucks
There are many different types of welfare. There are straight-up handouts to those who haven’t earned them. There are programs to bridge a gap and help a family in dire need. There are things like unemployment, which people somewhat earn while they work, and collect after they lose a job. There are tax “credits” which [...]
Lifestyle Analysis in Criminal Cases: Proving Income Without Full Documentation
Both civil and criminal cases often involve an element of proving or disproving income of an individual or business. It is not unusual for a divorce case to include allegations of hidden income or assets. In contract disputes alleging the loss of sales or profits, an accurate determination of income is critical.
In criminal cases, the [...]
Medifast files lawsuit, Fraud Discovery Institute reopens investigation
On Tuesday, Barry Minkow and the Fraud Discovery Institute issued a press release stating they were ending their investigation of Medifast Inc. (NYSE:MED) in order to focus on other companies.
One day later, Medifast filed a defamation suit in California against Minkow, FDI, Robert Fitzpatrick, William Lobdell, iBusiness Reporting, me, my company Sequence Inc., and an [...]
