• Scam Busting: Charles Ponzi and the early days of his pyramid scheme

    Charles Ponzi was born Carlo Ponzi, the only child of a family that lived comfortably in Italy. Although they had a comfortable life, they never lived up to the affluence Ponzi later bragged about. His family did have enough to […]

  • Dog the Bounty Hunter arrested

    Famed bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman was arrested last week on federal charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in an alleged kidnapping three years ago. Also arrested were his son Leland Chapman and his brother Tim Chapman. The Chapmans are […]

  • The Carnival of Business is here!

    Welcome to this week’s [tag]Carnival of Business[/tag]. Hopefully, you’re viewing this entry in your Firefox browser. Businesses are always looking for ways to improve: how to have purpose, how to be more profitable, how to be better corporate citizens, and […]

  • Agreement between Ken Lay’s Estate and Department of Labor

    The Department of Labor reached a settlement with the estate of Kenneth Lay, former Enron executive. Lay was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges earlier this year, and died on July 5th. The settlement gives DOL a $12 million claim […]

  • Reggie Bush accused of accepting substantial gifts while in college

    Yahoo! Sports writers Charles Robinson and Jason Cole have been investigating Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush and the allegations that he received improper financial benefits from sports agents while still in college. In the article entitled Cash and Carry, […]

  • This week’s Carnival of the Badger

    This week I participated in the 2,996 Tribute, to honor the 2,996 victims of 9/11 with one tribute per blogger. Please read my tribute to John Patrick Tierney. The focus for this week’s carnival seems to either politics or crime […]

  • Tyco Owes IRS $50 Million in Back Taxes

    Tyco International Ltd. still owes the Internal Revenue Service $50 million in income taxes related to capital gains that were not reported in its 1999 federal tax return. The company’s former vice president of taxation, Raymond Scott Stevenson has been […]

  • More questions raised about Lance Armstrong and doping

    According to Sports Illustrated, new questions have been raised about the possiblity of Lance Armstrong participating in doping. Two of his former teammates have admitted to doping (themselves), but have not implicated Lance. From the SI article: In Tuesday’s New […]

  • Scam Busting: The Father of the Pyramid Scheme

    Charles Ponzi could be described as a clever businessman, or a ruthless cheater, depending upon how you look at him. I view him primarily as a charismatic leader who was able to convince people to give him large sums of […]

  • The Elusive World of “Nonfinancial” Fraud

    Compliance Week By Tammy Whitehouse Now that Sarbanes-Oxley has made big progress buttoning down internal controls over financial reporting, the next great frontier for potential abuse is emerging: nonfinancial fraud. That’s the lesson, at least, from companies like BP and […]