Handbook of Frauds, Scams, and Swindles: Failures of Ethics in Leadership

414 Pages·2008·3.46 MB·English

by  Serge Matulich

Handbook of
FRAUDS, SCAMS,
and
SWINDLES
Failures of Ethics in Leadership
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Handbook of
FRAUDS, SCAMS,
and
SWINDLES
Failures of Ethics in Leadership
Edited by
Serge Matulich, Ph.D., CPA
David M. Currie, Ph.D.
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
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CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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© 2009 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑1‑4200‑7285‑3 (Softcover)
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Handbook of frauds, scams, and swindles : failures of ethics in leadership /
editors, Serge Matulich and David M. Currie.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978‑1‑4200‑7285‑3 (alk. paper)
1. Fraud‑‑United States‑‑Case studies. 2. Swindlers and swindling‑‑United
States‑‑Case studies. I. Matulich, Serge. II. Currie, David M., 1946‑ III. Series.
HV6695.H28 2008
364.16’30973‑‑dc22 2008013344
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
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Dedication
For Anna, Ashley, Andrew, and Sarah
David M. Currie
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Contents
Preface xi
The Editors xiii
Contributors xv
About the Contributors xvii
Introduction xxi
Section I SurvIvAl of ThE fITTEST
AnD SmArTEST
1 The nature of honesty: Exploring Examples of
the literary hoax in America 3
NaNcy M. SheltoN
2 Price Adjustments under the Table 17
DaNiel levy
Section II GrEEDy InDIvIDuAlS
3 Charles Ponzi 35
SteveN PreSSMaN
4 farm-Town Boy to International fugitive 45
Patrick kuhSe, Joyce a. oStroSky,
liNDa M. leiNicke, aND W. Max rexroaD
5 oscar hartzell and the Estate of Sir francis
Drake 55
SteveN PreSSMaN
vii
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viii contents
6 A Concrete Example of fraud at the fort Worth
Independent School District 63
arNolD i. BarkMaN
7 my (S)old Kentucky home: The Erpenbeck
homebuilder Case 73
JaMeS caShell, BriaN Ballou, aND DaN l. heitger
8 ZZZZ Best: Taking Investors to the Cleaners 81
triSh iSaacS
9 The City Slickers Share Price Scam 93
Paul BarNeS
10 martin frankel 101
SteveN PreSSMaN
Section III SCIEnTIfIC ChEATInG
11 human Experimentation Involving radiation,
Syphilis, and Scurvy 113
MattheW t. lee aND JeaNNiNe a. gailey
12 Doctoring the Data: Ethical failures in medical
research 129
keviN l. SiSeMore
13 from fraud to holocaust: The Protocols of the
Elders of Zion 141
chriStoPher J. FerguSoN
Section IV SlImy BEhAvIor
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contents ix
14 The China Aviation oil Scandal 151
keviN t. JackSoN
15 The Sh oil and Gas Exploration Scandal 161
PhiliP r. Murray
16 The Spanish Cooking oil Scandal: Toxic oil
Syndrome or Cover-up? 183
JaMeS P. JohNSoN
Section V frAuD In ThE CorPorATE
WorlD
17 Adelphia Communications: The Public Company
That Became a Private Piggy Bank:
A Case of fraud in the rigas family firm 191
rolaND e. kiDWell
18 high Stakes and high Energy at Enron:
The meteoric rise and fall of the “Crooked E” 207
StePheN F. hallaM aND roger c. Mayer
19 The Inside Story of the Parmalat Scandal: family
leadership Gone Wrong in a multinational Group 221
BahraM SoltaNi aND Flora SoltaNi
20 royal Ahold: leadership failure and “Big Bath”
Accounting 237
BahraM SoltaNi aND Flora SoltaNi
21 The vivendi Debacle: The fallen Superstar 249
BahraM SoltaNi aND Flora SoltaNi
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