The Con Men: a history of financial fraud and the lessons you can learn

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
About the author......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
Part One A brief but efficient history of trickery......Page 20
  Bernie Madoff......Page 22
  Allen Stanford......Page 24
  Could you have spotted a problem?......Page 26
  Lessons from the past......Page 28
  If you can’t trust the analysts and the auditors, who can you trust?......Page 32
 Chapter 2 Our touching need for confidence......Page 34
  Insider trading......Page 36
  Ivan Boesky and Dennis Levine......Page 37
  Robert Vesco......Page 41
  Plus ça change …......Page 47
  Ponzi and ‘Pump and Dump’ schemes......Page 52
  The SEC and Bernard Madoff......Page 59
  Further SEC investigations......Page 62
  Some frauds just never go away......Page 67
Part Two Let’s go to work: the confidence  men in action......Page 70
 Chapter 4 Sharks or maniacs?......Page 72
  Are some financial fraudsters psychopaths?......Page 74
  Routine activity theory......Page 78
  Nigerian scams – a different type of fraudster altogether?......Page 80
  The problem with plausibility......Page 83
  Offshore jurisdictions......Page 86
  Good old boys......Page 88
  Making sense of Stanford......Page 98
 Chapter 6 Shamanagement: financial wizardry to create paper profits......Page 102
  The Olympus scandal......Page 103
  The man who became the ‘Man from Del Monte’......Page 107
  Investors versus business shamans......Page 114
Part Three Why we get the swindlers we deserve......Page 116
 Chapter 7 Some deadly sins of investment: trusting false prophets, investing for the Apocalypse and the money illusion......Page 118
  Selling the sizzle, not the steak......Page 119
  Gold bugs: waiting for Armageddon......Page 123
  The money illusion......Page 126
  You can fool some of the people all  of the time …......Page 129
 Chapter 8 Moral hazard in the system......Page 132
  The LIBOR scandal......Page 135
  The swindling of Jefferson County, Alabama......Page 137
  Surviving the banks......Page 141
 Chapter 9 Due negligence: failing to  do the analysis......Page 144
  Harry Markopolos and Bernie Madoff......Page 149
  A word on funds and funds of funds......Page 151
  Due diligence always matters......Page 153
Part Four How to avoid  being swindled......Page 156
 Chapter 10 Funds are not all the same!......Page 158
  The Bayou hedge fund fraud......Page 164
  Avoiding hedge fund fraud......Page 166
 Chapter 11 All the books are cooked: the trouble with company accounts......Page 170
  Corporate governance from the investor’s point of view......Page 171
  Company accounts......Page 174
  Crazy Eddie......Page 177
  Enron......Page 181
  Investors and accounts......Page 187
 Chapter 12 Safer strategies......Page 190
  The first line of defence against fraud......Page 192
  Lower your expectations......Page 195
  Asset allocation......Page 198
Afterword......Page 202
Further reading......Page 208
Index......Page 214