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Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry
A riveting look at the perpetrators, victims, and whistleblowers behind financial crimes, from forensic accounting expert and documentarian Kelly Richmond Pope. Have you ever wondered why Bernie Madoff thought he could brazenly steal his clients' money? Or why investors were so easily duped by Elizabeth Holmes? Or how courageous people like Jeffrey Wigand are willing to become whistleblowers and put their careers on the line? Fraud is everywhere, from Nigerian "princes," embezzlers, and Ponzi schemers to corporate giants like Enron and Volkswagen. And fraud is costly. Each year, consumers, small businesses, governments, and corporations lose trillions of dollars to financial crime. We're so accustomed to hearing about fraud that our abilities to identify it and speak about it are limited. No more. In Fool Me Once , renowned forensic accounting expert Kelly Richmond Pope shows fraud in action, uncovering what makes perps tick, victims so gullible, and whistleblowers so morally righteous, while also encouraging us to look at our own behaviors and motivations in the hope of protecting ourselves and our companies. By the time you finish this book, you'll have a better understanding of—and perhaps even compassion for—perpetrators, a renewed connection to victims, and an appreciation for those who blow the whistle. Filled with fascinating stories and insightful analysis, Fool Me Once will open your eyes and challenge your thinking. It will inspire you to question your own preconceived notions about fraud. It will challenge your beliefs about yourself and other people. And it will help you understand a phenomenon that most of us fail to grasp—until it's too late.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2023
114 people are currently reading
3613 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
September 12, 2023
I received a signed copy from the author when she spoke at the 2023 Houston Instituted of Internal Auditor's Conference.
Having listened to her present the key note address and read the book, I have to say that if you have heard her speak, you've heard the best stories in the book.
Another review states that they bought the book after hearing an interview on the radio, their review was essentially the same---if you heard her speak, you've heard the best of the book.
That being said, I didn't really enjoy the book. The style is not one that I like---essentially a first person narrative talking about people she's encountered. Many of the stories were too superficial to be of interest.
In a realm where stories can be absolutely fascinating (how did a real life person perform a fraud and how did they get caught) the book left me wanting more.
Having listened to her present the key note address and read the book, I have to say that if you have heard her speak, you've heard the best stories in the book.
Another review states that they bought the book after hearing an interview on the radio, their review was essentially the same---if you heard her speak, you've heard the best of the book.
That being said, I didn't really enjoy the book. The style is not one that I like---essentially a first person narrative talking about people she's encountered. Many of the stories were too superficial to be of interest.
In a realm where stories can be absolutely fascinating (how did a real life person perform a fraud and how did they get caught) the book left me wanting more.
January 11, 2023
I received a free copy of, Fool Me Once, by Kelly Richmond Pope. from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I never realized how much fraud was in the world. From ponzi schemes, to people who stole from their job, and the government, its amazing how people think its ok, or it will not hurt anyone, no one will find out etc.
April 6, 2023
Listen to her being interviewed and you will pretty much hear the entire book.
June 4, 2023
Content warnings: fraud, discussion of the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Experiment
The title of this one is what caught me – fraud as a three billion dollar industry is absolutely bananas to me. It’s everywhere. This book doesn’t necessarily focus on the frauds as events, but it does zero in on the people at the heart of scams, the perpetrators, the victims, and the fraudsters themselves. An interesting look into the behavioral economics behind fraud and an empathetic look at all those involved and affected.
If you’re someone who wants snippets of different types of whistleblowers and the ways people react to their work, this is one to pick up.
The overview of each story is very superficial, but each one piqued my interest in that they contextualized the many bills and acts that affect how situations are fined and investigated today. Unfortunately, so much of the motivation behind fraud comes down to human nature and taking too many liberties when there is a lack of oversight, but Pope works to make the stories relatable because at any moment, one of her readers might be a perpetrator or a victim of fraud. Her stories are somewhat relatable, and, when they’re specific to larger situations, she tries to contextualize them for the reader.
Forensic accounting is a study I had never heard of before picking this up, and it’s definitely something I want to learn more about.
The title of this one is what caught me – fraud as a three billion dollar industry is absolutely bananas to me. It’s everywhere. This book doesn’t necessarily focus on the frauds as events, but it does zero in on the people at the heart of scams, the perpetrators, the victims, and the fraudsters themselves. An interesting look into the behavioral economics behind fraud and an empathetic look at all those involved and affected.
If you’re someone who wants snippets of different types of whistleblowers and the ways people react to their work, this is one to pick up.
The overview of each story is very superficial, but each one piqued my interest in that they contextualized the many bills and acts that affect how situations are fined and investigated today. Unfortunately, so much of the motivation behind fraud comes down to human nature and taking too many liberties when there is a lack of oversight, but Pope works to make the stories relatable because at any moment, one of her readers might be a perpetrator or a victim of fraud. Her stories are somewhat relatable, and, when they’re specific to larger situations, she tries to contextualize them for the reader.
Forensic accounting is a study I had never heard of before picking this up, and it’s definitely something I want to learn more about.
March 2, 2023
As a true crime books lover I read the free copy of this book thanks to Netgalley. It was a very compelling and eye-opening read. Nowadays we have fraud in every aspect of our lives. It comes from big like the Ponzi scheme to some small attempts to steal money through fake Nigerian accounts. Highly recommended.
July 15, 2023
Interesting topic that had me intrigued but this author did not come through with an interesting or well conceived book. The author’s students must be shortchanged in her classes. The writing is not well organized and the information is shoddy. Very disappointing.
November 6, 2023
Author is a CPA who frequently speaks to audiences on the topic of fraud in the workplace. The book reads like an accompaniment to those engagements.
I found it enjoyable given that I’m always amazed by the variety of charades some folks will carry out in order to take a short cut to financial or other gain. I always read stories in the news about characters who often have incredible creative powers to be successful in any endeavor but for one reason or another choose to use those faculties for crime.
The author takes an interesting approach in that she doesn’t simply vilify the perpetrators but rather she presents them in a more holistic way so as to better understand their motives and justifications. She’s not excusing their actions but provides the reader a better sense as to why the thefts occurred.
She also delves into the experiences of whistleblowers who often are alienated by their company and community for doing the “right” thing when it subsequently brings economic harm to friends and colleagues.
Recommended to anyone working in accounting or managing financial resources on behalf of others. Plenty of cautionary tales for all to learn from. Good ethics are important!
I found it enjoyable given that I’m always amazed by the variety of charades some folks will carry out in order to take a short cut to financial or other gain. I always read stories in the news about characters who often have incredible creative powers to be successful in any endeavor but for one reason or another choose to use those faculties for crime.
The author takes an interesting approach in that she doesn’t simply vilify the perpetrators but rather she presents them in a more holistic way so as to better understand their motives and justifications. She’s not excusing their actions but provides the reader a better sense as to why the thefts occurred.
She also delves into the experiences of whistleblowers who often are alienated by their company and community for doing the “right” thing when it subsequently brings economic harm to friends and colleagues.
Recommended to anyone working in accounting or managing financial resources on behalf of others. Plenty of cautionary tales for all to learn from. Good ethics are important!
July 6, 2023
This is an interesting book about fraudsters and whistleblowers. It could have been a little better written but overall I enjoyed it. Most of the examples have really stuck with me and I ended up watching the author’s documentary All the Queen’s Horses. Highly recommend watching it as a companion to this book.
March 16, 2024
Labai įdomi tema - apgavystės. Apgavikai, apgautieji, whistlebloweriai ir t.t. Ypač įdomu, nes pats irgi esu buvęs apmautas. Tik kad labiau referatas, o ne knyga.
March 29, 2023
As Stevo’s Novel Ideas, I am a long-time book reviewer, member of the media, an Influencer, and a content provider. I received this book as a free review copy from either the publisher, a publicist, or the author, and have not been otherwise compensated for reviewing or recommending it. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 3/26, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. "Fool Me Once" is a riveting look at the perpetrators, victims, and whistleblowers behind financial crimes.
For every loophole in a financial transaction or national disaster, there are dozens poised to take advantage of it for their personal financial gain. In her new book, business school professor and fraud researcher Kelly Richmond Pope reports that among companies with over $10 billion in global annual revenues, 52 percent experienced fraud during the last 24 months. During the COVID pandemic which began in 2020, she says, global online fraud increased by 46 percent. In 2022, organizations worldwide lost an estimated $5 trillion.
We all know about the major cases: from Bernie Madoff's largest Ponzi scheme in history to Volkswagen's cheating on emissions tests, but Pope concentrates on a few that may have slipped under your radar, such as the embezzlement of $30 million by Rita Crundwell who was the comptroller of the city of Dixon, Illinois.
Pope concentrates on three aspects of the cases - how the perpetrator initiated the scam and how they rationalized it, how the victims were affected, and how the scam was discovered and made public by a whistleblower.
Much of Pope's research isn't startling. In 2022, almost half of reported fraud incidents resulting in $100 million or more were committed by insiders. What *is* startling is that, despite legislation to protect whistleblowers (such as the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989), the U. S. government is making it harder to curtail fraud. The result, Pope says, is an urgent need for all of us to become more diligent and vocal about the fraudulent acts we discover.
"I want people to stick their nose into other people's business," Pope says. "To say something if they see something. There are pitfalls of not paying enough attention, not installing the proper internal controls, and not empowering the right people."
This book is not only an eye-opening look at the motivations of others, but our own as well.
Find more Business Books of the Week on my Goodreads Listopia page at https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9..., and find many more reviewed and recommended books and products by searching for me on Google.
This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 3/26, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. "Fool Me Once" is a riveting look at the perpetrators, victims, and whistleblowers behind financial crimes.
For every loophole in a financial transaction or national disaster, there are dozens poised to take advantage of it for their personal financial gain. In her new book, business school professor and fraud researcher Kelly Richmond Pope reports that among companies with over $10 billion in global annual revenues, 52 percent experienced fraud during the last 24 months. During the COVID pandemic which began in 2020, she says, global online fraud increased by 46 percent. In 2022, organizations worldwide lost an estimated $5 trillion.
We all know about the major cases: from Bernie Madoff's largest Ponzi scheme in history to Volkswagen's cheating on emissions tests, but Pope concentrates on a few that may have slipped under your radar, such as the embezzlement of $30 million by Rita Crundwell who was the comptroller of the city of Dixon, Illinois.
Pope concentrates on three aspects of the cases - how the perpetrator initiated the scam and how they rationalized it, how the victims were affected, and how the scam was discovered and made public by a whistleblower.
Much of Pope's research isn't startling. In 2022, almost half of reported fraud incidents resulting in $100 million or more were committed by insiders. What *is* startling is that, despite legislation to protect whistleblowers (such as the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989), the U. S. government is making it harder to curtail fraud. The result, Pope says, is an urgent need for all of us to become more diligent and vocal about the fraudulent acts we discover.
"I want people to stick their nose into other people's business," Pope says. "To say something if they see something. There are pitfalls of not paying enough attention, not installing the proper internal controls, and not empowering the right people."
This book is not only an eye-opening look at the motivations of others, but our own as well.
Find more Business Books of the Week on my Goodreads Listopia page at https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9..., and find many more reviewed and recommended books and products by searching for me on Google.
October 9, 2023
I enjoyed reading these case studies of embezzlement and other workplace financial crimes, and of how the scams were found. But the text was confusing in spots and I'm not a fan of the way the author creates rigid categories of types of people and assigns each perpetrator or whistleblower into one or the other.
And (this is not a criticism of the book) I am again aghast at how most whistleblowers are hated by almost everyone no matter how much good they've done by speaking up.
I'm also again dismayed by how long prison sentences are in the US. The author feels upset when a woman convicted of financial crime gets out of prison early (at age 70) after spending 8.5 years there. Really, what good would it do anyone to have her sit in jail longer? If people really are deterred from crime by the idea that they might go to jail, then isn't' 8.5 years, plus financial restitution and permanent loss of credibility enough of a deterrent? (I realize that my opinion on this, as well as my admiration for whistleblowers, is not the dominant opinion.)
And (this is not a criticism of the book) I am again aghast at how most whistleblowers are hated by almost everyone no matter how much good they've done by speaking up.
I'm also again dismayed by how long prison sentences are in the US. The author feels upset when a woman convicted of financial crime gets out of prison early (at age 70) after spending 8.5 years there. Really, what good would it do anyone to have her sit in jail longer? If people really are deterred from crime by the idea that they might go to jail, then isn't' 8.5 years, plus financial restitution and permanent loss of credibility enough of a deterrent? (I realize that my opinion on this, as well as my admiration for whistleblowers, is not the dominant opinion.)
December 14, 2023
I loved this, it's difficult to follow the complexities of financial fraud without zoning out - this title was readable and engaging. The stories were so relatable, it was a great reminder to always be looking for how fraud can occur in my organization and try to erect as many barriers as possible. I don't know that I'd have the courage to be a whistleblower, but I'm passionate about implementing processes to prevent fraud before it starts.
January 15, 2025
Scammers are getting smarter, so we all need to be careful! This book focuses on businesses being scammed. (I borrowed this from my son after he read it for his business class) It talks about different types of fraudsters and the importance of having multiple people know what is happening with the money. Small to medium size businesses seem to be especially prone because they often put more trust on just one person being in charge of overseeing the money.
March 6, 2023
Fool Me Once is a collection of stories written by forensic accounting expert Kelly Richmond Pope. She dives deep into uncovering fraud scams, exposing perpetrators and how they take advantage of victims, and the prestige, or is it an apprehension towards whistleblowers. This book challenges your understanding and possibly your naivety around the fraud phenomenon. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher who allowed me a copy of the book for an honest review.
May 28, 2024
Interesting TikTok-length and -detail stories sprinkled with the author’s self-promotion and self-congratulating.
June 1, 2024
Very interesting read!
February 10, 2023
Kelly Richmond Pope does not disappoint with Fool Me Once. Full of true examples of corporate and municipal (Dixon, Illinois) fraud, the book is informative and educational. Whether you own a company or even just manage your own personal financial life, the incredible and rather clever scams fraudsters perpetrate will leave you stunned. I loved this book! Thank you to NetGalley.
June 17, 2024
2.5
Okay this book was not what I thought it would be. Maybe i should have read the back, but whatever. This was informative but almost impossible to finish because it felt like little miss author was writing in her diary, not a published book. Hey, maybe you should be focusing less on how super cool you are because you have interviewed some financial criminals and more on your subpar spelling skills. I mean how many times can you misspell the word “perp” in a 250 page book?! IT HAS FOUR LETTERS. Also, the Netflix series is called ozark, not ozarkS. Was your editor just insanely incompetent or did they edit this manuscript while high? I guess we’ll never know.
my inner kaz brekker demon was rolling his eyes for the entirety of the self righteous book.
Ok maybe this was a little harsh but I’m mad so yolo
Okay this book was not what I thought it would be. Maybe i should have read the back, but whatever. This was informative but almost impossible to finish because it felt like little miss author was writing in her diary, not a published book. Hey, maybe you should be focusing less on how super cool you are because you have interviewed some financial criminals and more on your subpar spelling skills. I mean how many times can you misspell the word “perp” in a 250 page book?! IT HAS FOUR LETTERS. Also, the Netflix series is called ozark, not ozarkS. Was your editor just insanely incompetent or did they edit this manuscript while high? I guess we’ll never know.
my inner kaz brekker demon was rolling his eyes for the entirety of the self righteous book.
Ok maybe this was a little harsh but I’m mad so yolo
June 10, 2023
Frustratingly slight. If you pulled out restatements and tables the page count would drop significantly. A lot of words are spent laying out “archetypes” of perps, targets and whistleblowers, and I see that there is some use in that, but I felt like those distinctions could have been made clear in a few paragraphs leaving room for more fraud stories.
December 30, 2023
This book is terrible. A bunch of generic fraud stories with cute little frameworks for analyzing them that are gladwell-esque. I made it 50 pages and stopped... Don’t waste your time / money
April 11, 2023
Forensic accounting professor Kelly Richmond Pope wants to demystify fraud. In Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry, Pope classifies fraudsters by category: intentional, accidental, and righteous. The latter two, she argues, deserve our understanding, if not our full sympathy.
Pope, a DePaul University professor, is best known for directing and producing the popular documentary All the Queen’s Horses about the largest municipal fraud case in U.S. history. She has made a niche for herself as someone who aims to understand fraud, not just condemn it, and has even befriended a number of white-collar criminals.
Based mostly on stories and a smattering of data, the recipe for fraud as Pope describes it is quite simple: a combination of pressure and opportunity. Most perpetrators have some unmet need or desire that can be resolved with a little extra cash. When the circumstances are right, some people choose to steal. Pope calls them “intentional perps.”
In some cases, the fraud begins unintentionally—a personal vacation accidentally charged to the company card, for example. The lack of repercussion makes the fraud too tempting to try again (and again). The people who fall into this category are “accidental perps.”
Pope’s final category, “righteous perps” are those who commit fraud for what they see as the greater good. Think Robin Hood. Though some will surely disagree with her, Pope places Edward Snowden in this category. Although he calls himself a whistleblower, Pope believes he perpetrated fraud in order to serve his country.
Most people probably can’t see themselves in a fraud mastermind like Bernie Madoff, but “they can relate to an ambitious person with big dreams,” Pope writes. She describes perpetrators of fraud like Rita Crundwell, the city comptroller in Illinois who embezzled a record-breaking $53 million, as “everyday people who find themselves entangled in a vicious lie.”
Pope believes that if people don’t acknowledge and examine the temptation to steal in themselves, they might stray more easily into unethical behavior. Using examples from her own life, like being sent two expensive designer purses when she only ordered one, and from the white-collar criminals she has interviewed, Pope highlights the ease with which otherwise upstanding people can become ensnared in financial deception.
Unsurprisingly, the most successful perpetrators of fraud operate in settings where they are trusted and where oversight is lax. Pope stresses the importance of vigilance in the workplace: If you see something, say something.
She heaps praise on the whistleblowers who do speak up. She argues that they never deserve the backlash they sometimes receive within their companies and in the media. From a student who told on her cheating college classmates to a learning specialist at the University of North Carolina who exposed the corrupt grading system for student athletes, Pope sees whistleblowers as heroes. She scorns the words “snitch” and “tattletale.”
Coming forward with suspicions or accusations can stop a fraudulent act from escalating and causing catastrophic harm. Pope has firsthand knowledge of the fall-out from fraud: Her father was fired when one of his employees was caught embezzling money from a college in North Carolina, even though he was not involved in the crime.
She shows how fraud causes harm far beyond the financial. In the most egregious case, a compounding pharmacist in Missouri watered down his chemotherapy drugs to save money. In the case of Rita Crundwell, the comptroller in Illinois, an entire town suffered the consequences of her actions—their facilities, programs, and staff were underfunded for years.
Pope’s many stories liven up the material she presents, which can sometimes feel like a compilation of lectures and handouts from her college course on fraud. Pope’s relatable attitude makes the book an easy read. She is open about her own ethical quandaries and even an occasion when she was the victim of an Airbnb scam.
Pope’s apparent objectives—to illuminate fraud and celebrate whistleblowers—are well supported by her evidence and arguments. It would be hard to come away from this book feeling immune from the temptation of fraud or ambiguous about reporting it, not to mention a bit more suspicious of one’s colleagues.
Pope, a DePaul University professor, is best known for directing and producing the popular documentary All the Queen’s Horses about the largest municipal fraud case in U.S. history. She has made a niche for herself as someone who aims to understand fraud, not just condemn it, and has even befriended a number of white-collar criminals.
Based mostly on stories and a smattering of data, the recipe for fraud as Pope describes it is quite simple: a combination of pressure and opportunity. Most perpetrators have some unmet need or desire that can be resolved with a little extra cash. When the circumstances are right, some people choose to steal. Pope calls them “intentional perps.”
In some cases, the fraud begins unintentionally—a personal vacation accidentally charged to the company card, for example. The lack of repercussion makes the fraud too tempting to try again (and again). The people who fall into this category are “accidental perps.”
Pope’s final category, “righteous perps” are those who commit fraud for what they see as the greater good. Think Robin Hood. Though some will surely disagree with her, Pope places Edward Snowden in this category. Although he calls himself a whistleblower, Pope believes he perpetrated fraud in order to serve his country.
Most people probably can’t see themselves in a fraud mastermind like Bernie Madoff, but “they can relate to an ambitious person with big dreams,” Pope writes. She describes perpetrators of fraud like Rita Crundwell, the city comptroller in Illinois who embezzled a record-breaking $53 million, as “everyday people who find themselves entangled in a vicious lie.”
Pope believes that if people don’t acknowledge and examine the temptation to steal in themselves, they might stray more easily into unethical behavior. Using examples from her own life, like being sent two expensive designer purses when she only ordered one, and from the white-collar criminals she has interviewed, Pope highlights the ease with which otherwise upstanding people can become ensnared in financial deception.
Unsurprisingly, the most successful perpetrators of fraud operate in settings where they are trusted and where oversight is lax. Pope stresses the importance of vigilance in the workplace: If you see something, say something.
She heaps praise on the whistleblowers who do speak up. She argues that they never deserve the backlash they sometimes receive within their companies and in the media. From a student who told on her cheating college classmates to a learning specialist at the University of North Carolina who exposed the corrupt grading system for student athletes, Pope sees whistleblowers as heroes. She scorns the words “snitch” and “tattletale.”
Coming forward with suspicions or accusations can stop a fraudulent act from escalating and causing catastrophic harm. Pope has firsthand knowledge of the fall-out from fraud: Her father was fired when one of his employees was caught embezzling money from a college in North Carolina, even though he was not involved in the crime.
She shows how fraud causes harm far beyond the financial. In the most egregious case, a compounding pharmacist in Missouri watered down his chemotherapy drugs to save money. In the case of Rita Crundwell, the comptroller in Illinois, an entire town suffered the consequences of her actions—their facilities, programs, and staff were underfunded for years.
Pope’s many stories liven up the material she presents, which can sometimes feel like a compilation of lectures and handouts from her college course on fraud. Pope’s relatable attitude makes the book an easy read. She is open about her own ethical quandaries and even an occasion when she was the victim of an Airbnb scam.
Pope’s apparent objectives—to illuminate fraud and celebrate whistleblowers—are well supported by her evidence and arguments. It would be hard to come away from this book feeling immune from the temptation of fraud or ambiguous about reporting it, not to mention a bit more suspicious of one’s colleagues.
May 24, 2023
This is exactly what is in the title- but told in a voice that is circular. As much as she designates types and categorizes- the gist and the copy are extremely repetitive.
The Whistleblower chapter and aftermath of such was 4 star, nearly 5. They suffer. Greatly and never do you hear about numerous real world and cultural bias reactions in the aftermaths of payback. Even from the social welfare or criminal justice systems, let alone the closest of family/friends/associates.
There are parts of this book that are weird. Worse than weird. Inappropriate and within the author's various comments, judgments, or reaction summations. Worse than snark. It's (arrogance and inappropriate flip) revealed the most in her various chartings and reaction in the chartings' columns. But come on. Beyonce and other various tastes for entertainment etc.(among other entirely irrelevant criteria) do not belong in the seriousness of the prime copy here.
Being so core knowledgeable to the exact cases (especially the Dixon IL story and that documentary that I have seen- it was a 3 as well) and every single place she visits/ resides/ mentions in IL and in the Chicagoland area- made a BIG difference for me in reading this book. As compared to other posters here. The one highlighted core case of fraud listed and described too was in Englewood (Chicago neighborhood) where I was actually born and lived. And because of that, I do understand her paranoia and suspicion completely. They are quite often more than justified.
Regardless, she does not write well at all. White collar crime of every single type has become endemic. (Not only in the big welfare haven cities either.) This is just the tip of the iceberg in Chicago. Even the "honest" hold almost no objective moral values. (10 commandment values being OBJECTIVE moral values.) A mindset exists which holds HUGE personal subjectively to "mine" or any version of entirely selfish right or wrong based principles. If any item becomes lost or in any avenue of minute diversion over-looked - it is available for snatching. Write offs for business and expense account reimbursements are a joke, they are so universal and flagrant cheats. And the few honest people, as I am- are continually falling over cheats in doing ANY accounting process for various jobs in that category, nearly everywhere. From a drugstore to an educational campus. And I've held such exact jobs for 40 plus years and within
different decades and centuries at that. It got worse in the 2000's. Indiana is even putting men's socks and underwear under lock and key cases now. Stealing without consequence and virtually approved has overcome.
So I read his book because of my own witness history. And also because of how this in larger and larger degrees of others calling this "white-collar" crime with almost no retribution or, if any, prison or even service required level consequences. It's far more than that- this collapses entire systems. It's the reason entire huge areas have no stores and no hope. Any types of stores. Time and again- some ventures try. But only for months. All is carried away. Not even a carnival can exist. It was flash mobbed last weekend and moved away in a day very near to me. Who suffers this lack of reprisal?
If you see her interviewed- it's the exact same cases as the book. Actually with all the corporation and other scam embezzlements done by internet and other digital tech- she should have had a much wider case base. How about the facts or process merely mentioned once or twice here in Fool Me Once- the billion $ which disappeared into nowhere that was COVID designated.
The Whistleblower chapter and aftermath of such was 4 star, nearly 5. They suffer. Greatly and never do you hear about numerous real world and cultural bias reactions in the aftermaths of payback. Even from the social welfare or criminal justice systems, let alone the closest of family/friends/associates.
There are parts of this book that are weird. Worse than weird. Inappropriate and within the author's various comments, judgments, or reaction summations. Worse than snark. It's (arrogance and inappropriate flip) revealed the most in her various chartings and reaction in the chartings' columns. But come on. Beyonce and other various tastes for entertainment etc.(among other entirely irrelevant criteria) do not belong in the seriousness of the prime copy here.
Being so core knowledgeable to the exact cases (especially the Dixon IL story and that documentary that I have seen- it was a 3 as well) and every single place she visits/ resides/ mentions in IL and in the Chicagoland area- made a BIG difference for me in reading this book. As compared to other posters here. The one highlighted core case of fraud listed and described too was in Englewood (Chicago neighborhood) where I was actually born and lived. And because of that, I do understand her paranoia and suspicion completely. They are quite often more than justified.
Regardless, she does not write well at all. White collar crime of every single type has become endemic. (Not only in the big welfare haven cities either.) This is just the tip of the iceberg in Chicago. Even the "honest" hold almost no objective moral values. (10 commandment values being OBJECTIVE moral values.) A mindset exists which holds HUGE personal subjectively to "mine" or any version of entirely selfish right or wrong based principles. If any item becomes lost or in any avenue of minute diversion over-looked - it is available for snatching. Write offs for business and expense account reimbursements are a joke, they are so universal and flagrant cheats. And the few honest people, as I am- are continually falling over cheats in doing ANY accounting process for various jobs in that category, nearly everywhere. From a drugstore to an educational campus. And I've held such exact jobs for 40 plus years and within
different decades and centuries at that. It got worse in the 2000's. Indiana is even putting men's socks and underwear under lock and key cases now. Stealing without consequence and virtually approved has overcome.
So I read his book because of my own witness history. And also because of how this in larger and larger degrees of others calling this "white-collar" crime with almost no retribution or, if any, prison or even service required level consequences. It's far more than that- this collapses entire systems. It's the reason entire huge areas have no stores and no hope. Any types of stores. Time and again- some ventures try. But only for months. All is carried away. Not even a carnival can exist. It was flash mobbed last weekend and moved away in a day very near to me. Who suffers this lack of reprisal?
If you see her interviewed- it's the exact same cases as the book. Actually with all the corporation and other scam embezzlements done by internet and other digital tech- she should have had a much wider case base. How about the facts or process merely mentioned once or twice here in Fool Me Once- the billion $ which disappeared into nowhere that was COVID designated.
July 26, 2023
Former National Football League commissioner Bert Bell astutely observed that “on any given Sunday, any team in the NFL can beat any other team.” With some license, it can also be observed that “on any given day, any person, no matter how smart or savvy they are, can be scammed.”
And that is the point Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope, professor of forensic accounting at DePaul University, makes in Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry (Harvard Business Review Press).
Where there’s money, there will be the potential for fraud. And with the desire for quick riches, and an abundance of money, fraud is pervasive. And worldwide, it costs citizens, businesses, and governments trillions of dollars.
Rather than just rehash news reports about the latest fraud or Ponzi scheme, the book digs deep to understand why these crimes occur, who does them, and how people and businesses can avoid being yet another victim.
She writes that victims of these frauds are often thought to be naïve, gullible, or stupid. That might be true in some cases. But it’s far from the rule. And fraud whistleblowers play a prominent role in the book. And she feels that far from being rats or snitches, whistleblowers are heroes.
As to the importance of whistleblowers, nothing proves that more than the recent OceanGate tragedy. David Lochridge was the director of marine operations at OceanGate and was fired after raising concerns about its carbon fiber hull and other systems before its maiden voyage. He was terminated after presenting problems to CEO Stockton Rush and senior management.
The recent events have clearly vindicated Lochridge. But his life was not easy in the years after he was wrongfully terminated.
The book starts with an overview of the Rita Crundwell fraud case. Crundwell was the comptroller and treasurer for the city of Dixon, Illinois. She was terminated in April 2012 when it was discovered that she had embezzled over $50 million from the city for decades. Much of it went to her horse breeding businesses and to support her lavish lifestyle.
Crundwell’s fraud was only discovered when she was on vacation, and city employee Kathe Swanson discovered her nefarious activities. After a lengthy FBI investigation, instigated by Swanson’s whistleblowing claim, Crundwell was arrested.
After providing countless stories about fraud, Pope notes that one thing to remember is that fraud schemes don’t really change. The schemes have stayed pretty constant for the longest time. What has significantly changed is who is engaging in fraud. No longer are the players con artists and career criminals. But employees and others who you often think are the people least to be suspected.
The new breed of white-collar fraudsters is the reason why implementing proper internal controls and teaching ethics training to all employees on a recurrent basis is so critical.
After reading this interesting and engaging book, you may no longer want to trust anyone. But the good news is that only a small subset of employees end up going rogue. And for those types of employees, the book gives the reader what they need to know to understand how these frauds operate and what they need to do to avoid becoming victims.
The City of Dixon lost millions to fraud. Had they put to heart the advice in this valuable $25 book, they might not have been driven to the brink of bankruptcy.
And that is the point Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope, professor of forensic accounting at DePaul University, makes in Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry (Harvard Business Review Press).
Where there’s money, there will be the potential for fraud. And with the desire for quick riches, and an abundance of money, fraud is pervasive. And worldwide, it costs citizens, businesses, and governments trillions of dollars.
Rather than just rehash news reports about the latest fraud or Ponzi scheme, the book digs deep to understand why these crimes occur, who does them, and how people and businesses can avoid being yet another victim.
She writes that victims of these frauds are often thought to be naïve, gullible, or stupid. That might be true in some cases. But it’s far from the rule. And fraud whistleblowers play a prominent role in the book. And she feels that far from being rats or snitches, whistleblowers are heroes.
As to the importance of whistleblowers, nothing proves that more than the recent OceanGate tragedy. David Lochridge was the director of marine operations at OceanGate and was fired after raising concerns about its carbon fiber hull and other systems before its maiden voyage. He was terminated after presenting problems to CEO Stockton Rush and senior management.
The recent events have clearly vindicated Lochridge. But his life was not easy in the years after he was wrongfully terminated.
The book starts with an overview of the Rita Crundwell fraud case. Crundwell was the comptroller and treasurer for the city of Dixon, Illinois. She was terminated in April 2012 when it was discovered that she had embezzled over $50 million from the city for decades. Much of it went to her horse breeding businesses and to support her lavish lifestyle.
Crundwell’s fraud was only discovered when she was on vacation, and city employee Kathe Swanson discovered her nefarious activities. After a lengthy FBI investigation, instigated by Swanson’s whistleblowing claim, Crundwell was arrested.
After providing countless stories about fraud, Pope notes that one thing to remember is that fraud schemes don’t really change. The schemes have stayed pretty constant for the longest time. What has significantly changed is who is engaging in fraud. No longer are the players con artists and career criminals. But employees and others who you often think are the people least to be suspected.
The new breed of white-collar fraudsters is the reason why implementing proper internal controls and teaching ethics training to all employees on a recurrent basis is so critical.
After reading this interesting and engaging book, you may no longer want to trust anyone. But the good news is that only a small subset of employees end up going rogue. And for those types of employees, the book gives the reader what they need to know to understand how these frauds operate and what they need to do to avoid becoming victims.
The City of Dixon lost millions to fraud. Had they put to heart the advice in this valuable $25 book, they might not have been driven to the brink of bankruptcy.
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January 6, 2024Not rating as I only got a third of the way through the book.
Very readable.
But confusing and maybe needed a bit of a pre-reading?
Included below are some comments on the content, so not really spoilers but in reference to passages in the book.
Several of the examples where the author or people she knew were scammed were not really believable, folks with careers in finance and accounting falling for things like not reading AirBnB reviews well or panicking when the IRS called. (The IRS doesn't call people as first contact, and the author seems to have skipped the most essential tool in sussing out if something is a scam call -- hang up and call the organization's official number to see if they really called you. Instead she uses things like the caller having a foreign accent as a red flag. Yes, sure, a lot of scam calling is from overseas, but plenty of legit reps of American companies also have accents. It's weird that she'd list that but not something like "don't buy gift cards for transactions, they aren't traceable and that's why scammers use them".)
She seems to be padding the book quite a bit -- your AirBnB door lock not working properly is not the same as you being scammed.
And she seems to have been advised to "pop" her chapter titles with catchy phrases, but they don't really fit. Some woman who is a lawyer but somehow doesn't know not to embezzle money to give to her drug convict husband (and through him, then, to her own household) is not "righteous" under -- well, under any reasonable definition. And an innocent bystander is not the same as the victim of a crime -- an innocent bystander is someone not involved as direct victim or perpetrator of an act but that winds up being damaged collaterally. And I don't think either Kant or T.S. Eliot were saying what she paraphrases them as saying.
That said, a lot of what I'm criticizing here is exactly what makes the book so bouncy and readable, so these may have all been intentional choices. It's kind of hard to make white collar crime "fun" without going full-on demonizing and exaggerating drama queen, and the author obviously is trying to take a generous attitude towards the people she interviews (possibly in part so that other people convicted of fraud will be willing to be interviewed later for her class or research) so she treats them pretty kindly.
Very readable.
But confusing and maybe needed a bit of a pre-reading?
Included below are some comments on the content, so not really spoilers but in reference to passages in the book.
Several of the examples where the author or people she knew were scammed were not really believable, folks with careers in finance and accounting falling for things like not reading AirBnB reviews well or panicking when the IRS called. (The IRS doesn't call people as first contact, and the author seems to have skipped the most essential tool in sussing out if something is a scam call -- hang up and call the organization's official number to see if they really called you. Instead she uses things like the caller having a foreign accent as a red flag. Yes, sure, a lot of scam calling is from overseas, but plenty of legit reps of American companies also have accents. It's weird that she'd list that but not something like "don't buy gift cards for transactions, they aren't traceable and that's why scammers use them".)
She seems to be padding the book quite a bit -- your AirBnB door lock not working properly is not the same as you being scammed.
And she seems to have been advised to "pop" her chapter titles with catchy phrases, but they don't really fit. Some woman who is a lawyer but somehow doesn't know not to embezzle money to give to her drug convict husband (and through him, then, to her own household) is not "righteous" under -- well, under any reasonable definition. And an innocent bystander is not the same as the victim of a crime -- an innocent bystander is someone not involved as direct victim or perpetrator of an act but that winds up being damaged collaterally. And I don't think either Kant or T.S. Eliot were saying what she paraphrases them as saying.
That said, a lot of what I'm criticizing here is exactly what makes the book so bouncy and readable, so these may have all been intentional choices. It's kind of hard to make white collar crime "fun" without going full-on demonizing and exaggerating drama queen, and the author obviously is trying to take a generous attitude towards the people she interviews (possibly in part so that other people convicted of fraud will be willing to be interviewed later for her class or research) so she treats them pretty kindly.
March 16, 2025
I don't remember who recommended this book to me. It was probably someone on a podcast.
I come away from this book not feeling very sympathetic to the author. I don't think her efforts at categorization are particularly meaningful, and her choices for what frauds to highlight are kind of random and unstructured. Sometimes I feel like she comes off a little too self-righteous in her observations. I don't feel like I learned much from this except to reinforce the gut instinct that, "People will try to get away with things if they think they can, and if they can convince themselves that they deserve it." It's also not the point the author is trying to make, but I come away feeling that the current punitive justice system is not an appropriate deterrent for fraud prevention. Defrauding a community for millions of dollars means going to jail for less than a decade? And the spurned community never comes close to recouping the costs? There's gotta be a better system to prevent such frauds from even being possible to commit. And somehow, putting someone behind bars for committing wire fraud doesn't seem like the correct punishment. Again, I don't know the correct answer. But we as a society should figure out something more appropriate.
I also think this book is potentially functionally damaging to release widely. It documents exactly how a bunch of elaborate, temporarily successful frauds were committed, and then shows how each was eventually exposed. A bad actor could use this information to know what pitfalls to avoid while concealing their even more elaborate fraud.
I also think the characterisation of the archetypes in this book is inherently and irresolvably incomplete. The author cannot ever confidently assert that anything in this book could apply to those fraudsters who have never or will never be caught, or who are so good at their fraud that they have contorted the legal system to make it so that their actions aren't legally punishable. The greatest frauds of all, those who have gained so much power that they cannot be touched, and who feel no remorse for their actions, for they have melded the world to continue to enable their parasitism, they escape this book's gaze. This context makes the book feel unhelpful for creating meaningful understanding of the topic it is about.
I come away from this book not feeling very sympathetic to the author. I don't think her efforts at categorization are particularly meaningful, and her choices for what frauds to highlight are kind of random and unstructured. Sometimes I feel like she comes off a little too self-righteous in her observations. I don't feel like I learned much from this except to reinforce the gut instinct that, "People will try to get away with things if they think they can, and if they can convince themselves that they deserve it." It's also not the point the author is trying to make, but I come away feeling that the current punitive justice system is not an appropriate deterrent for fraud prevention. Defrauding a community for millions of dollars means going to jail for less than a decade? And the spurned community never comes close to recouping the costs? There's gotta be a better system to prevent such frauds from even being possible to commit. And somehow, putting someone behind bars for committing wire fraud doesn't seem like the correct punishment. Again, I don't know the correct answer. But we as a society should figure out something more appropriate.
I also think this book is potentially functionally damaging to release widely. It documents exactly how a bunch of elaborate, temporarily successful frauds were committed, and then shows how each was eventually exposed. A bad actor could use this information to know what pitfalls to avoid while concealing their even more elaborate fraud.
I also think the characterisation of the archetypes in this book is inherently and irresolvably incomplete. The author cannot ever confidently assert that anything in this book could apply to those fraudsters who have never or will never be caught, or who are so good at their fraud that they have contorted the legal system to make it so that their actions aren't legally punishable. The greatest frauds of all, those who have gained so much power that they cannot be touched, and who feel no remorse for their actions, for they have melded the world to continue to enable their parasitism, they escape this book's gaze. This context makes the book feel unhelpful for creating meaningful understanding of the topic it is about.
February 12, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Harvard Business Review Press for an advanced copy of this book on financial crimes, how people are deceived and what makes people perpetrate scams and engage in fraud.
Humans have a problem with trusting too much. For all the politicians and morality police who love to be in our personal business, many don't like to ask questions when it comes to financial issues, especially when it comes to how a person's income is derived. A police officer with three homes, 3 cars and a boat, or a CPA who somehow summers in Europe and cruises the islands, while working for a non-profit. People are told to mind our own business, people who point out these crimes are called rats, or snitches, and shunned by society. This is how crimes are committed and accountability becomes just a word with a lot of syllables. Scams are all around us, from selling a mistakenly double shipped item on ebay, registering a car in another state to not pay the state tax where they live. Mottos like only suckers pay retail, or taxes are for the little people. There is always a cost though. Forensic accountant, filmmaker and educator Kelly Richmond Pope has in Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry opens the book on financial schemes, fraudsters, flimflam people, who purposefully, accidentally or by not paying attention have taken so much from our economy, and from all of our pocketbooks.
The book begins with a woman filling in for her boss who is on vacation, printing out financial records for the town in which they live. Her boss might be away with her numerous horses at a dressage event, the boss being quite wealthy, though no one is quite sure how. By that afternoon it is clear that the bosses lifestyle is being subsidized by the county, as the boss has been ripping them off for years. The author saw this story, and wanted to know more. The author's father had lost his job years before due to an employee embezzling money, and her father had been caught in the fallout of blame. Soon readers are learning about different schemes, from double billing hospitals, to watering down cancer treatment medicines, putting thousands of patients at risk. Pope interviews schemers, and those who have been schemed letting them tell their stories and giving practical advice and asking for increased governmental regulation.
A book that makes financial crime not only interesting, but explains why it is so prevalent, and how this effects so much in society. Pope is a very good writer, making everything clear and understandable, even when some of the financial dealings get very deep in the weeds. There a lots of first hand stories from both sides, that really puts a human face on why people steal, and why people trust others to steal from them. There is always a very intriguing discussion on the role of whistleblowers in financial crimes, and how many really don't want to hear from them. Financial crimes can be hard to prove and a company doing financial shenanigans can be both a unrewarding case to prosecute, and cause political headaches. Pope has many suggestions and ideas on policy to make investigations easier and tips for people to try and keep their finances under better control.
A very different kind of business profile book, with a lot of practical ideas, and plenty of scare stories to make most business people afraid to even hire new people. One of the better books on business and financial crimes that I have read in quite a while. Recommended for people who work in the world of finance, or for people who are getting their own business started. This book will help them know what to look for.
Humans have a problem with trusting too much. For all the politicians and morality police who love to be in our personal business, many don't like to ask questions when it comes to financial issues, especially when it comes to how a person's income is derived. A police officer with three homes, 3 cars and a boat, or a CPA who somehow summers in Europe and cruises the islands, while working for a non-profit. People are told to mind our own business, people who point out these crimes are called rats, or snitches, and shunned by society. This is how crimes are committed and accountability becomes just a word with a lot of syllables. Scams are all around us, from selling a mistakenly double shipped item on ebay, registering a car in another state to not pay the state tax where they live. Mottos like only suckers pay retail, or taxes are for the little people. There is always a cost though. Forensic accountant, filmmaker and educator Kelly Richmond Pope has in Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry opens the book on financial schemes, fraudsters, flimflam people, who purposefully, accidentally or by not paying attention have taken so much from our economy, and from all of our pocketbooks.
The book begins with a woman filling in for her boss who is on vacation, printing out financial records for the town in which they live. Her boss might be away with her numerous horses at a dressage event, the boss being quite wealthy, though no one is quite sure how. By that afternoon it is clear that the bosses lifestyle is being subsidized by the county, as the boss has been ripping them off for years. The author saw this story, and wanted to know more. The author's father had lost his job years before due to an employee embezzling money, and her father had been caught in the fallout of blame. Soon readers are learning about different schemes, from double billing hospitals, to watering down cancer treatment medicines, putting thousands of patients at risk. Pope interviews schemers, and those who have been schemed letting them tell their stories and giving practical advice and asking for increased governmental regulation.
A book that makes financial crime not only interesting, but explains why it is so prevalent, and how this effects so much in society. Pope is a very good writer, making everything clear and understandable, even when some of the financial dealings get very deep in the weeds. There a lots of first hand stories from both sides, that really puts a human face on why people steal, and why people trust others to steal from them. There is always a very intriguing discussion on the role of whistleblowers in financial crimes, and how many really don't want to hear from them. Financial crimes can be hard to prove and a company doing financial shenanigans can be both a unrewarding case to prosecute, and cause political headaches. Pope has many suggestions and ideas on policy to make investigations easier and tips for people to try and keep their finances under better control.
A very different kind of business profile book, with a lot of practical ideas, and plenty of scare stories to make most business people afraid to even hire new people. One of the better books on business and financial crimes that I have read in quite a while. Recommended for people who work in the world of finance, or for people who are getting their own business started. This book will help them know what to look for.
August 15, 2023
Your idea of what you think a white-collar felon is, really isn't the reality,'" Pope said. "Most of the people I interview are really nice, everyday people. They could be anyone walking down the street. - Kelly Richmond Pope
We’ve received emails from Nigerian princes…calls and emails promising lottery winnings (for lotteries we didn’t enter). We’ve read about fraudulent companies like Theranos and seen news stories about banks like Wells Frago that apparently defrauded customers from coast to coast at the direction of management. Fraud has touched all of us in some way, share, or form.
In her book, Fool Me Once, Kelly Richmond Pope shares real stories, examples, and cases of fraud representing three general categories that she describes as intentional, accidental, and righteous (described as someone who thinks they are doing good). These examples range from interesting to enlightening to outright maddening. Fraud is rampant, but so much of it happens because of the willful ignorance of insiders that choose not to say something.
Pope has the resume and credentials to investigate fraud across a wide variety of situations and contexts. Readers will be educated and entertained. Organizational structures, toxic cultures, and criminal enterprises all contribute to fraud that costs consumers, businesses, and taxpayers billions each year. Pope describes a variety of perpetrators and the circumstances that facilitated their crimes. As technology advances and laws change, fraud will evolve and we will all need to be ever vigilant to the very real risks facing all of us.
I want everyone to mind their business, but in the opposite way to what my mother meant. I want people to be vigilant, aware - Kelly Richmond Pope
We’ve received emails from Nigerian princes…calls and emails promising lottery winnings (for lotteries we didn’t enter). We’ve read about fraudulent companies like Theranos and seen news stories about banks like Wells Frago that apparently defrauded customers from coast to coast at the direction of management. Fraud has touched all of us in some way, share, or form.
In her book, Fool Me Once, Kelly Richmond Pope shares real stories, examples, and cases of fraud representing three general categories that she describes as intentional, accidental, and righteous (described as someone who thinks they are doing good). These examples range from interesting to enlightening to outright maddening. Fraud is rampant, but so much of it happens because of the willful ignorance of insiders that choose not to say something.
Pope has the resume and credentials to investigate fraud across a wide variety of situations and contexts. Readers will be educated and entertained. Organizational structures, toxic cultures, and criminal enterprises all contribute to fraud that costs consumers, businesses, and taxpayers billions each year. Pope describes a variety of perpetrators and the circumstances that facilitated their crimes. As technology advances and laws change, fraud will evolve and we will all need to be ever vigilant to the very real risks facing all of us.
I want everyone to mind their business, but in the opposite way to what my mother meant. I want people to be vigilant, aware - Kelly Richmond Pope
May 22, 2023
I don’t have enough time to express how much I loved this book and all of the amazing things about it. It’s a must-read for just about everyone. Kelly Richmond Pope is a professor and has been fascinated with fraud since a young age, and now she dedicates her life to understanding why people commit fraud and how people fall for it. The book has a lot of really interesting stories, but the way the author writes really keeps you engaged, and I binged this book within a few days.
Kelly does a phenomenal job explaining the different types of people who commit fraud and the thought process they have when doing it. Then, she also explains how people fall for it or how things go unnoticed. She also has an excellent chapter on whistle-blowers and how difficult it is to be one because there’s so much retaliation and things that happen to a person’s reputation for just trying to do the right thing.
If I had to have one critique, it’s just a personal one and probably wouldn’t fit well in this book. I think the one thing missing is a larger moral/ethical conversation about unethical, terrible companies that are also victims of fraud. While fraud is wrong and there is a lot of collateral damage, when millionaires and billionaires are victims of fraud, the book doesn’t really discuss how many of those “victims” also did terrible things to acquire their money.
My critique is tiny, so make sure you get this book. Everyone needs to read it to learn how to protect themselves from fraud and also change the conversation around whistle-blowers and how we view them and treat them.
Kelly does a phenomenal job explaining the different types of people who commit fraud and the thought process they have when doing it. Then, she also explains how people fall for it or how things go unnoticed. She also has an excellent chapter on whistle-blowers and how difficult it is to be one because there’s so much retaliation and things that happen to a person’s reputation for just trying to do the right thing.
If I had to have one critique, it’s just a personal one and probably wouldn’t fit well in this book. I think the one thing missing is a larger moral/ethical conversation about unethical, terrible companies that are also victims of fraud. While fraud is wrong and there is a lot of collateral damage, when millionaires and billionaires are victims of fraud, the book doesn’t really discuss how many of those “victims” also did terrible things to acquire their money.
My critique is tiny, so make sure you get this book. Everyone needs to read it to learn how to protect themselves from fraud and also change the conversation around whistle-blowers and how we view them and treat them.
November 20, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Some years ago, I stumbled on the documentary film All The Queens Horses and I loved it.
That prompted me to follow the author on social media, which in turn led me to reading this book once she published it. This book follows up and expands on some of the core issues in All The Queens Horses, and gives tremendous insight into the world of fraud. It's astonishing how vulnerable people can be to fraud, and also how brazen some fraudsters can be.
Richmond Pope lays out fraud in all its aspects and ramifications in a very down to earth and breezy writing style (her college classes must be a joy to take) and you can't help but learn something. I've always been sensitive to fraud and security, and confess to having an innate fear of being conned, and this book big just further educated me on the subject. It gave me more tips and guidance to keep me on guard. I plowed through the book in less than a week, completely caught up in it.
Also of note: the book is very well researched, and loaded with very precise footnotes. To my mind, that just adds to credibility.
Well done!
Some years ago, I stumbled on the documentary film All The Queens Horses and I loved it.
That prompted me to follow the author on social media, which in turn led me to reading this book once she published it. This book follows up and expands on some of the core issues in All The Queens Horses, and gives tremendous insight into the world of fraud. It's astonishing how vulnerable people can be to fraud, and also how brazen some fraudsters can be.
Richmond Pope lays out fraud in all its aspects and ramifications in a very down to earth and breezy writing style (her college classes must be a joy to take) and you can't help but learn something. I've always been sensitive to fraud and security, and confess to having an innate fear of being conned, and this book big just further educated me on the subject. It gave me more tips and guidance to keep me on guard. I plowed through the book in less than a week, completely caught up in it.
Also of note: the book is very well researched, and loaded with very precise footnotes. To my mind, that just adds to credibility.
Well done!
January 17, 2024
As an accountant, I picked this book up because I have been interested in forensic accounting for a while and saw an interview with this author that peaked my interest in this book. Being a fairly recent grad (Bachelors 5 years ago, Masters 4 years ago) a lot of the material in this book were topics we touched on in our courses but used real life examples and interviews with perps and victims.
It is a great read and really interesting to see how Pope frames the discussion. She comes at it from an angle of making sure not to vilify the perpetrators, but to try to understand why they did what they did.
At times I felt her opinions and judgments were coming through a little too strong, like when she believes everyone should be a whistleblower and vigilante, and her thoughts on Rita. She spends a good portion of the book showing compassion for other perps, but even when shown hard data that Rita's sentencing was outside the norm, she can't hide her disgust at Rita being "let out too soon"
Overall though, I thought it was a great book. It is informative without coming across like one of those boring accounting textbooks. I would recommend it to any finance and accounting professionals, especially those interested in forensic accounting and the fraud industry.
It is a great read and really interesting to see how Pope frames the discussion. She comes at it from an angle of making sure not to vilify the perpetrators, but to try to understand why they did what they did.
At times I felt her opinions and judgments were coming through a little too strong, like when she believes everyone should be a whistleblower and vigilante, and her thoughts on Rita. She spends a good portion of the book showing compassion for other perps, but even when shown hard data that Rita's sentencing was outside the norm, she can't hide her disgust at Rita being "let out too soon"
Overall though, I thought it was a great book. It is informative without coming across like one of those boring accounting textbooks. I would recommend it to any finance and accounting professionals, especially those interested in forensic accounting and the fraud industry.
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