...The Fraud of the Century: The Case of Bernard Madoff The fraud perpetrated by Bernard Madoff which was discovered in December, 2008 is based upon a Ponzi scheme. Madoff took money from new investors to pay earnings for existing customers. The greater the payout to retiring and withdrawing customer, the more revenue or clients he would need to start and “investment relationship” with Madoff. The Ponzi scheme was named after Charles Ponzi who in the early 20th Century, saw a way to profit from international reply coupons. International reply coupons were a guarantee of return postage in response to an international letter. Charles Ponzi determined that he could make money, legally, by swapping out these coupons for more expensive postage stamps in countries where the stamps were of higher value. While making a significant profit with this system, Ponzi got the idea of enticing investors to provide him more capital to trade coupons for higher priced postage stamps. His promise to investors was a 50% profit in a few days. Touted as a financial wizard and the ‘Warren Buffet’ of his day, Ponzi lived outside Boston, he had a fairly opulent life bringing in as much as $250,000/day. Part of Ponzi’s success came from is personal charisma and ability to con even savvy investors. The promised payout was supported by the new investors anxious to take advantage of these robust returns because he appeared to create an image of power, trust, and responsibility. In July of 1920...
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...The Fraud of the Century: The Case of Bernard Madoff The fraud perpetrated by Bernard Madoff which was discovered in December, 2008 is based upon a Ponzi scheme. Madoff took money from new investors to pay earnings for existing customers. The greater the payout to retiring and withdrawing customer, the more revenue or clients he would need to start and “investment relationship” with Madoff. The Ponzi scheme was named after Charles Ponzi who in the early 20th Century, saw a way to profit from international reply coupons. International reply coupons were a guarantee of return postage in response to an international letter. Charles Ponzi determined that he could make money, legally, by swapping out these coupons for more expensive postage stamps in countries where the stamps were of higher value. While making a significant profit with this system, Ponzi got the idea of enticing investors to provide him more capital to trade coupons for higher priced postage stamps. His promise to investors was a 50% profit in a few days. Touted as a financial wizard and the ‘Warren Buffet’ of his day, Ponzi lived outside Boston, he had a fairly opulent life bringing in as much as $250,000/day. Part of Ponzi’s success came from is personal charisma and ability to con even savvy investors. The promised payout was supported by the new investors anxious to take advantage of these robust returns because he appeared to create an image of power, trust, and responsibility. In July of 1920...
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...have probably heard of a financial ploy called a Ponzi scheme. However, many may not fully understand the details or how to protect themselves from such a financial risk. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment plan in which the investments of later investors are used to pay earlier investors, giving the appearance that the investments of the initial participants dramatically increase in value in a short amount of time. These types of financial schemes promise investors large interest returns if they provide money as a loan. As more new investors participate, the money that is contributed by later investors is paid to the initial investors, allegedly at the promised interest on their loans. This method works initially, but will then fold as more investors participate and choose to take withdrawals. Though these types of schemes have happened before, the first of this caliber was documented in the 1920’s by its namesake, Charles Ponzi. In 2008, Bernard “Bernie” Madoff was exposed for running the largest Ponzi scheme to date, conning investors out of over $65 billion over thirty years. INTRODUCTION Bernard Madoff was responsible for the largest reported Ponzi scheme in history. How did this happen? Who else knew about it? Why did it take so long for him to be exposed? This paper will endeavor to answer all of those questions and more. This paper will offer dialogue into how Madoff’s scheme differed from a traditional Ponzi scheme and understand the ethical, emotional and financial...
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... Through word of mouth, he began attraction outside investors and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities was formed. However, a few people were not fooled and saw the danger behind the facade. A few people heeded the warning sign that were evident all around Madoff. They filed reports with the SEC on several occasions but they were too inexperienced to look deeper. In the end the story holds us not because of the engrossing details of the scam, but because of its human element. Madoff emerges here not as some master criminal, but as a sad man who sad man of weak character who committed one of the crimes of the century, instead of simply telling the truth. His story is not the story of ridiculous greed but more the picture of our unlimited aptitude for self-delusion. Bernard L. Madoff was arrested in December 2008 for defrauding thousands of individuals and organizations of billions of dollars for over two decades. The part of Madoff’s investment advisory company involved in private-investment or assess-management was where all of his illicit activities were carried out. In fact, most employees had no ideal he was stealing from his clients. Madoff had perpetrated an outsized Ponzi scheme, a Brobdingnagian con game (Lewis, 2012). In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty of soliciting funds to buy securities and failing to invest the money. He used the money instead, as did the notorious Charles Ponzi, to pay returns to early investors and for his own benefit. According...
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...White Collar Crime – presented by Mr. Neil Weinberg Mr. Neil Weinberg, Executive Editor of Forbes Magazine, wrote “Stolen Without A Gun” with co-author Walter Pavlo, using the compelling personal story of Mr. Pavlo to portray in intimate detail the pressures that white-collar professionals face every day in corporate world. Mr. Weinberg’s discussion at Rotman was extremely relevant to MBA students because of the main narrator’s background: Pavlo was a young MBA who had a promising career at MCI until he took the wrong step on a mud slide of accounting scams that ultimately cost him not only his career but also his freedom, family, reputation and self-respect. According to Weinberg’s research, white-collar criminals are not just ordinary people; they are smart, well-educated and ambitious. They often start as wide-eye fresh graduates at large corporations of which profit-driven culture infiltrates all levels within. Some of them were even chosen as CFOs of the year: Andrew Fastow (Enron) and Scott D. Sullivan (Worldcom). So why do they turn out to be the thieves stealing from the economy $2.5 trillion per year? Weinberg argues that these people, like Pavlo, do not just wake up one day and decide to commit in a greed-inspired fraud. In fact, only 7% of perpetrators have prior conviction. They operate business under the performance pressure from investors, stockholders and Wall Street professionals. They execute mega mergers which present opportunities for companies to hide flaws...
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...“ism’s”: Racism, sexism and classism, to demonstrate some of the pitfalls that the system has. Though it is obvious that all of these societal differences play a large role in the criminal justice process, I will focus on classism. Classism is the discrimination against a group or individual based on social and economic status. Classism is one of those “ism’s” that occurs more than we notice and sometimes, we may confuse it with things like racism or sexism. Many authors argue that factors outside of class play a more important role, but many believe that we should be more attentive to the role that class plays in targeting and the sentencing process in the criminal justice system. In order to understand the role that class plays in the sentencing process, we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing. There are a plethora of publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which get people into the system. Though these are two large proponents of the discriminatory acts that exist within the confines of the criminal justice system, it does not begin with these institutionalized methods. The first instances of discrimination, which leads to all of the other forms within the system, are the laws and crime control policies that are implemented that, in some instances, are set up in favor of the rich and in opposition to the poor. In Marxist criminology, one of the fundamental principles is that the “ruling class” puts...
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...obvious that all of these societal differences play a large role in the criminal justice process, I will focus on classism. Classism is the discrimination against a group or individual based on social and economic status. Classism is one of those “ism’s” that occurs more than we notice and sometimes, we may confuse it with things like racism or sexism. Classism, in my opinion, plays a larger role in the criminal justice system as opposed to the other forms of discriminatory practices. In particular, class largely comes into play during the sentencing process. Many authors argue that factors outside of class play a more important role, but I believe that there needs to be more attention paid to the role that class plays in targeting and the sentencing process in the criminal justice system. In order to understand the role that class plays in the sentencing process, we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing. There are a plethora of publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which get people into the system. Though these are two large proponents of the discriminatory acts that exist within the confines of the criminal justice system, it does not begin with these institutionalized methods. The first instance of discrimination, which leads to all of the other forms within the system, are the laws and crime control policies that are implemented that, in some instances, are set up...
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...there are business leaders and philosophers that object to the belief or need of exhausting time, money or resources for the welfare of its people, be it consumers or employees, data indicates that those who do recognize their noblesse oblige will prosper (BP, pg 149). Practicing ethical business operations has been a talked about subject since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Whether it is sustainability or social responsibility, approaches to business ethics have yet to be standardized. At the peak of today’s ethical environmental dilemmas stands Monsanto, the organization that prides itself on the ability to create sustainable agriculture. There are also scandals with regard to scrupulous or fraudulent investors, such as Bernard Madoff, who prosper at the expense of trusting individuals. Lending institutions have also taken advantage of the financially ill-informed consumers who have lost their homes and in some cases their families and lives as a result of subprime lending practices (cite). Toyota, who was once known as one of the world’s fastest growing auto makers (cite) deliberately ignored the safety of its consumers in effort to continue maximizing its profits. Organizations lacking business morals must understand that responsibility does not rest on one source, but rather it should be a collaborative effort between the companies, governments, and individuals (Business Ethics). Until standardized practices are followed at home and abroad, leaders will continue...
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...University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Honors Theses Student Scholarship Fall 2012 An Analysis of Fraud: Causes, Prevention, and Notable Cases Kristin A. Kennedy University of New Hampshire - Main Campus, kaj79@wildcats.unh.edu Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.unh.edu/honors Part of the Accounting Commons Recommended Citation Kennedy, Kristin A., "An Analysis of Fraud: Causes, Prevention, and Notable Cases" (2012). Honors Theses. Paper 100. This Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact scholarly.communication@unh.edu. An Analysis of Fraud: Causes, Prevention, and Notable Cases University of New Hampshire Honors Thesis in Accounting Kristin Kennedy ADMN 799 Professor Le (Emily) Xu Fall 2012 Table of Contents I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. Background……………………………………………………………........1 a. What is accounting and what role does financial reporting serve?..........1 b. History of accounting standards………………………………………..2 c. Role of auditing………………………………………………………...5 Fraud……………………………………………………………………….6 a. Two types of fraud……………………………………………………..6 i. Misappropriation of Assets…………………………………….7 ii. Misrepresentation of Financial Statements…………………….7 b. Fraud...
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...International Business Exam Chapter 1 Notes Domestic vs International Business * Business: is the manufacturing of goods or services in order to make a profit * Term “trade” is used interchangeably with business * Transactions: exchange of things of value * Domestic Business: business that transacts mainly in the country it was base din * ie owned by Canadians, in Canada, selling to Canadians (Rare) * International Business: economic system of transactions conducted between businesses in different countries * Domestic Transaction: between 2 Canadian companies * International Transaction: between Canadian + non Canadian company * Domestic Market: the customers of a business who are in the same country as the business * Foreign Market: the customers of a business who are in a different country as the business * 5 Ways for businesses to must be international * MUST own retailers or distributors in another country * MUST own manufacturing plant in another country * MUST export to other countries * MUST import from others * MUST invest in other country businesses * Trading Partner: Canada businesses make relationship with businesses in another country, so they would be Canada’s trading partner. History of Canadian Trade * European Trade * 1700s – trades grew fast after permanent Canadian settlement * Demand for raw materials (beaver pelts, fish, lumber) ...
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...CHEATING Definition Cheating is defined as the intentional act of breaking the rules, or attempting to achieve personal gain through fraud or deceit.16 To cheat is to deprive of something valuable by the use ofdeceit or fraud, to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice, to practice fraud or trickery, to violate rules dishonestly, or to be sexually unfaithful.11 A cheater (sometimes called acheat) gets something by dishonesty or deception; or by depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth; or by large-scale cheating bymisrepresentation or abuse of confidence.11 Cheating is an act of lying, deception, fraud, trickery, imposture, or imposition. Cheating characteristically is employed to create an unfair advantage, usually in one's own interest, and often at the expense of others. Cheating implies the breaking of rules. Cheating is a primordial economic act: getting more for less, often used when referring to marital infidelity.3 Cheating is when a person misleads, deceives, or acts dishonestly on purpose.17 Cheating fundamentally includes several elements of both lying and stealing, with specific motivations to gain something of value by illegitimate means. That is why lying and stealing are discussed before cheating. Cheating is lying and/or stealing with the intention for acquiring something for more than merely the "pleasure" of fooling or depriving others. Children Cheating as a concept is not understood by children...
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...CORE CONCEPTS OF Accounting Information Systems Twelfth Edition Mark G. Simkin, Ph.D. Professor Department of Accounting and Information Systems University of Nevada Jacob M. Rose, Ph.D. Professor Department of Accounting and Finance University of New Hampshire Carolyn Strand Norman, Ph.D., CPA Professor Department of Accounting Virginia Commonwealth University JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. VICE PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER SENIOR ACQUISITIONS EDITOR PROJECT EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR SENIOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION EDITOR MARKETING MANAGER CREATIVE DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES SENIOR ILLUSTRATION EDITOR PHOTO EDITOR MEDIA EDITOR COVER PHOTO George Hoffman Michael McDonald Brian Kamins Sarah Vernon Jacqueline Kepping Dorothy Sinclair Erin Bascom Karolina Zarychta Harry Nolan Wendy Lai Laserwords Maine Anna Melhorn Elle Wagner Greg Chaput Maciej Frolow/Brand X/Getty Images, Inc. This book was set in 10/12pt Garamond by Laserwords Private Limited, and printed and bound by RR Donnelley/Jefferson City. The cover was printed by RR Donnelley/Jefferson City. This book is printed on acid free paper. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of knowledge and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Our company is built on a foundation of principles that include responsibility to the...
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...HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer is Today's Economy S T E V E FORBES and E L I Z A B E T H A M E S HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US W h y Free People and Free Markets A r e t h e Best A n s w e r i n Today's E c o n o m y Steve Forbes AND ELIZABETH AMES CROWN BUSINESS ALSO BY STEVE FORBES Power Ambition Glory (coauthored with John Prevas) Flat Tax Revolution A New Birth of Freedom To the millions of individuals whose energy, innovation, and resilience built the Real World economy. Their enterprise, when unleashed, is always the answer. Copyright © 2009 by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.crownpublishing.com CROWN BUSINESS is a trademark and CROWN and the Rising Sun colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Forbes, Steve, 1947How capitalism will save us / Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. 1. Capitalism—United States. 2. United States—Economic policy. 3. United States—Economic conditions. I. Ames, Elizabeth. II. Title. HB501.F646 2009 330.12'20973—dc22 2009032751 ISBN 978-0-307-46309-8 Printed in the United States of America DESIGN BY BARBARA S T U R M A N 1O 9 8 7...
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...This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank Less managing. More teaching. Greater learning. INSTRUCTORS... Would you like your students to show up for class more prepared? class is much more fun if everyone is engaged and prepared…) (Let’s face it, Want ready-made application-level interactive assignments, student progress reporting, and auto-assignment grading? (Less time grading means more time teaching…) Want an instant view of student or class performance relative to learning objectives? (No more wondering if students understand…) Need to collect data and generate reports required for administration or accreditation? (Say goodbye to manually tracking student learning outcomes…) Want to record and post your lectures for students to view online? With McGraw-Hill's Connect Management, ™ INSTRUCTORS GET: • Interactive Applications – book-specific interactive assignments that require students to APPLY what they’ve learned. • Simple assignment management, allowing you to spend more time teaching. • Auto-graded assignments, quizzes, and tests. • Detailed Visual Reporting where student and section results can be viewed and analyzed. • Sophisticated online testing capability. • A filtering and reporting function that allows you to easily assign and report on materials that are correlated to accreditation standards, learning outcomes, and Bloom’s taxonomy. • An easy-to-use lecture capture tool. STUDENTS... Want an online, searchable...
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...This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank Less managing. More teaching. Greater learning. INSTRUCTORS... Would you like your students to show up for class more prepared? class is much more fun if everyone is engaged and prepared…) (Let’s face it, Want ready-made application-level interactive assignments, student progress reporting, and auto-assignment grading? (Less time grading means more time teaching…) Want an instant view of student or class performance relative to learning objectives? (No more wondering if students understand…) Need to collect data and generate reports required for administration or accreditation? (Say goodbye to manually tracking student learning outcomes…) Want to record and post your lectures for students to view online? With McGraw-Hill's Connect Management, ™ INSTRUCTORS GET: • Interactive Applications – book-specific interactive assignments that require students to APPLY what they’ve learned. • Simple assignment management, allowing you to spend more time teaching. • Auto-graded assignments, quizzes, and tests. • Detailed Visual Reporting where student and section results can be viewed and analyzed. • Sophisticated online testing capability. • A filtering and reporting function that allows you to easily assign and report on materials that are correlated to accreditation standards, learning outcomes, and Bloom’s taxonomy. • An easy-to-use lecture capture tool. STUDENTS... Want an online, searchable...
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