Examination of Fraud pt. I

In the last post, we placed a rather long definition of "fraud."  As I stated last time, it is a good starting point.

  So, what is "fraud?"

   Let's do an example.

   The idea of "armed robbery" is fairly easy to grasp.  If I point a gun at you and demand, under threat of violence, that you turn over your monies to me, then clearly I have committed "armed robbery."

   Fraud, and often other types of white-collar crime, is a little more difficult to pin down.  After all, look at the Enron trials of Jeffrey Skilling and the late Ken Lay.  Both men were accused of massive fraud.  In other words, they used deceit and misdirection to steal billions.  But, both Skilling and Lay argued in their defense (in part) that they did nothing wrong and, indeed, that THEY were victims of (essentially) a "run on the bank." Both men paid a great deal of money to advocate this defense.

   Now, of course, both men were found guilty of massive fraud (once again, in part) and Skilling is serving a great deal of time in prison for his actions (Lay died before sentencing).

   Here is an exercise for the next time we meet - try and look at the whole thing from the perspective of Skilling and Lay.  We'll discuss this later.

   In the meantime, thank you once again for reading and enjoy a fraud-free day.


------------------>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk