Handbook of Frauds, Scams, and Swindles

by Serge Matulich (editor), Kevin T. Jackson (Contributor), Roger C. Mayer (Contributor)

It has been said that scammers and swindlers often display characteristics commonly attributed to good leadership. These include setting a vision, communicating it clearly, and motivating others to follow their lead. But when these skills are used by unconscionable people to satisfy greed, how can the average person recognize that foul play is afoot? Providing a unique account of frauds throughout modern history, Handbook of Frauds, Scams, and Swindles: Failures of Ethics in Leadership compiles narratives from around the world, including a number of highly-publicized cases. Leading financial and investigative experts have authored the individual chapters, yet the book maintains a reader-friendly style. The result is a text that is highly engaging and most importantly, provides regulators and investigators with an understanding of the motivations and behavior common to the individuals behind these life-damaging crimes. The book includes a wealth of stories, including famous cases such as Ponzi, ZZZZ Best, Enron, Parmalat, and Vivendi, along with lesser-known scandals involving both corporations and individuals. There is also a section on frauds perpetrated for motives other than financial rewards, including instances when the government performed experiments on humans without their knowledge or consent, as well as stories on frauds involving science and religion. A section detailing the Arthur Anderson debacle discusses the compounding of a fraud when the supposed watchdog plays a complicit role. And recognizing that not every issue is black or white, the book also explores whether a hoax perpetrated in the name of a noble cause can ever be justified. By reviewing the tactics used by swindlers and the motivations that turned good people crooked, investigators and others will come to recognize the red flags that accompany unscrupulous behavior. In doing so, they may well learn how to head off potential disaster.

414 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2008

Reviews

[John-Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm designing an ethics class for my organization, and this book is chock full of cases of fraud from all walks of life: media, medical, financial, you name it, they got it! The authors of the different chapters did a great job making the stories as accessible as possible for those not familiar with the more technical aspects of the particular case, and the bibliographies at the end of each chapter were robust enough to satisfy the curious reader.

The one trouble I had with the book, and it's not altogether minor, is with the subtitle of the book itself, "Failures of Ethics in Leadership". I felt like most chapters just explained the story and left out any discussion on how the fraud was a result of a breakdown in ethical leadership. There were exceptions: three chapters devoted to the HealthSouth fraud thoroughly discussed how Scrushy and his cronies led that organization into disaster, but by and large, the purported focal point of the book, failures of ethics in leadership, was glossed over in most chapters.

All in all, though, there are several stories of fraud that can serve as excellent case studies for just about any ethics course.

[randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm, what did I learn from this book? This is kind of the Sociopaths Financial Handbook, suggesting that if you are callous and cynical and clever enough, you too can make millions (or billions) off of innocent, trusting, less clever people. Of course, even if you have a scheme, some assembly is required. Editors Serge Matulich and David Currie organized the book into seven sections and these deal with major players from Charles Ponzi to Barry Minkow of ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaners to Enron to Vivendi and United Airlines and the City of San Diego. A collection of authors present the stories in readable and sometimes entertaining styles, frequently accompanied by additional notes. All of these stories relate to financial crimes, some of which are extremely complicated, yet in every case, the authors distill the technicalities to non-financial readers.