Wall Street Judge: Cynicism Tempered by Fraud Examiners' Efforts

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Wall Street Judge: Cynicism Tempered by Fraud Examiners' Efforts

Cressey Award recipient Judge Jed S. Rakoff said the real winners of the honor should be the members of the ACFE because they root out fraud to an unprecedented degree. “I wish I could say the same for the federal government,” he said during his Monday Opening Session address. “But I am regrettably, convincingly convinced that the federal government and the federal system of justice has somewhat retrogressed over the past couple of decades … in the prosecution of fraud … when it’s perpetrated by people at the highest levels of the financial establishment.”

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The War Against Herbalife: Pyramid Scheme or Multi-level Marketing Master?

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The War Against Herbalife: Pyramid Scheme or Multi-level Marketing Master?

On Dec. 19, 2012, activist investor William Ackman publicly confirmed that he was “betting” against the stock of Herbalife because “the company operates like a pyramid scheme.” Ackman claimed in a 334-slide, three-hour presentation, “Herbalife is a pyramid scheme because, among other reasons, distributors earn more than 10 times as much from recruitment as they do by selling the company’s overpriced products to bona fide retail customers.” 

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The Wolf of Wall Street: From the Prosecutor’s Seat

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When did Jordan Belfort, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” make the majority of his money committing fraud? According to former U.S. Attorney Joel M. Cohen, Belfort’s fraudulent activities picked up dramatically in 1994, after he was charged with securities fraud and barred from brokering by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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“The Wolf of Wall Street”: The Other Side of the Story

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The Academy Award-nominated film “The Wolf of Wall Street” has garnered nearly as much controversy as it has critical acclaim. The film’s depiction of Stratton Oakmont founder Jordan Belfort’s outrageous lifestyle, fueled by sex, drugs and greed, makes for an entertaining – and wild – ride, but noticeably leaves out a key element in his scheme: the victims. 

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