I will be on a major project starting Wednesday the 30th of November for a few days and this blog will not be updated until about December 5. So, rather than start on a lengthy post, I will just devote the next two days to book recommendations.
"No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolous is an outstanding read and highly recommended. Markopolous was a fraud investigator who, with a small team, discovered (quite by accident) Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme long before anyone else. The discovery was based on a few elemental observations and even Markopolous himself was doubtful at first at what he realized was a fraud of epic proportions.
This is only the beginning of the story, however. The majority of the book is devoted to Markopolous' tireless efforts to get the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to listen to him (hence the title of the book) as he tried to bring this multi billion dollar scam (the largest such scam in history) to the agency's attention. SEC incompetence and outright laziness on the part of SEC officials meant that for many years, despite Markopolous' warnings and exhaustive memos which clearly outlined Madoff's scheme, this vital information was ignored.
The truly sad and shocking part of this entire story is that, had the SEC taken the time to just listen to Markopolous and read his memos (which anyone could understand), Madoff's scheme could have been caught years before it was finally exposed and upwards of $50 billion dollars saved (yes, you read that correctly, it's billions with a "b").
Markopolous' story, as I think he would be the first to tell you, was not so much about someone cracking Madoff's scheme (although this was some brilliant work by Markopolous and his team), but rather the frustrating and heartbreaking scandal of government incompetence and possible corruption as Madoff's scam continued to defraud people of money and, in the end, cause an international tragedy and scandal.
The book is an easy read and is well written. Markopolous' own frustrations jump out at the reader as he relates his struggles and it is easy to empathize with him as Markopolous discovered that sometimes the real scandal is not the person who does the evil, but the governmental functionaries that are too lazy or incompetent to even care.
"No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolous is an outstanding read and highly recommended. Markopolous was a fraud investigator who, with a small team, discovered (quite by accident) Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme long before anyone else. The discovery was based on a few elemental observations and even Markopolous himself was doubtful at first at what he realized was a fraud of epic proportions.
This is only the beginning of the story, however. The majority of the book is devoted to Markopolous' tireless efforts to get the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to listen to him (hence the title of the book) as he tried to bring this multi billion dollar scam (the largest such scam in history) to the agency's attention. SEC incompetence and outright laziness on the part of SEC officials meant that for many years, despite Markopolous' warnings and exhaustive memos which clearly outlined Madoff's scheme, this vital information was ignored.
The truly sad and shocking part of this entire story is that, had the SEC taken the time to just listen to Markopolous and read his memos (which anyone could understand), Madoff's scheme could have been caught years before it was finally exposed and upwards of $50 billion dollars saved (yes, you read that correctly, it's billions with a "b").
Markopolous' story, as I think he would be the first to tell you, was not so much about someone cracking Madoff's scheme (although this was some brilliant work by Markopolous and his team), but rather the frustrating and heartbreaking scandal of government incompetence and possible corruption as Madoff's scam continued to defraud people of money and, in the end, cause an international tragedy and scandal.
The book is an easy read and is well written. Markopolous' own frustrations jump out at the reader as he relates his struggles and it is easy to empathize with him as Markopolous discovered that sometimes the real scandal is not the person who does the evil, but the governmental functionaries that are too lazy or incompetent to even care.
NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.
Have a great and fraud-free day.
----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
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