Join Caleb and Greg on a twisting saga of an insurance company that began in the late 1950s, rose to spectacular heights in the 1960s, and came crashing down in the 1970s.

Sponsors
The Small Business Research Institute - https://ohmyfraud.promo/ceanow
Bean - https://ohmyfraud.promo/bean

• (00:00) - With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

• INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGED BY S.E.C. TO EQUITY FUNDING [NYT]
• Associates Find Goldblum Is Not Too Easy to Know [NYT]
• 22 INDICTED BY U.S. IN EQUITY SCANDAL [NYT]
• GOLDBLUM ENTERS EQUITY GUILT PLEA [NYT]
• Dirks, Who Uncovered Fraud At Equity, Is ‘Gratified’ by Plea [NYT]
• Goldblum Among 6 Sentenced To Jail in Equity Funding Case [NYT]
• 12 More Ex‐Officials of Equity Funding Sentenced [NYT]
• $57 Million Tentative Settlement Drafted in Equity Funding Fraud [NYT]
• Flory, Steven M. and Cooper, Kerry (1976) "Equity Funding: The Profession Reacts," Woman C.P.A.: Vol. 38: Iss. 3, Article 4.
• Contemporary Auditing Issues and Cases, by Michael C. Knapp. Case 5.6 Equity Funding Corporation of America
• Soble, Ronald L. and Dallos, Robert E. (1975) “The Impossible Dream.”
• Flory, Steven M. and Cooper, Kerry (1976) "Equity Funding: The Profession Reacts," Woman C.P.A.: Vol. 38: Iss. 3, Article 4.
• Seidler, Lee J., Andrews, Frederick, Epstein, Marc J. (1977) “The Equity Funding Papers: The Anatomy of a Fraud.” 
• Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646 (1983) [Justia]

Raymond Dirks, Whose Tipster Case Redefined Insider Trading, Dies at 89 [NYT]

You’ve probably heard of pyramid schemes, but are you confident that you know what it is? And if you are, do you know the difference between them and multi-level marketing companies? Or Ponzi schemes? In this episode, Caleb and Greg discuss all that and more about one of the simplest and most common frauds around.

Sponsors
MakersHub- https://ohmyfraud.promo/makershub
RightRev - https://ohmyfraud.promo/rightrev
Bean - https://ohmyfraud.promo/bean

• (00:00) - Introduction to Pyramid Schemes

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:
The history of pyramid schemes and their evolution over time — Medium

Pyramid scheme — Wikipedia

MLMs vs. Pyramid Schemes: One Is Legal, But the Other Could Land You in Prison — Coolidge Law Firm

The Case (for and) against Multi-level Marketing — FTC

Get-Rich-Quick Profiteers Love Mitt Romney, and He Loves Them Back — Mother Jones

Couple Charged for Operating Multimillion-Dollar Pyramid Scheme — DOJ

Bernie Madoff and how to identify a Ponzi scheme. — Metis Ireland

Tupperware once changed women's lives. Now it struggles to survive — NPR

What Is Multi-Level Marketing? — Forbes

Don’t Fall Victim to the False Promises of MLMs. - The Daily Utah Chronicle

Prosper DJ, wife ordered to pay $10.7 million for pyramid scheme targeting black investors — Dallas Morning News

Legend has it that when asked why he robbed banks, the infamous 20th century bank robber Willie Sutton said, “Because that’s where the money is.” In the 21st century, banks still have the money, but the approach to robbing has changed considerably. Caleb and Greg discuss one such case that features astonishingly deceitful methods.

Sponsors
MakersHub- https://ohmyfraud.promo/makershub
RightRev - https://ohmyfraud.promo/rightrev
Blue Onion - https://ohmyfraud.promo/blueonion

• (00:00) - A Bank Robbery in Elkhart

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

• Cimarron National Grassland [NPS]
• Santa Fe National Historic Trail [NPS]
• Dust storm. Elkhart, Kansas [Library of Congress]
• Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl between 1935 and 1938, originally prepared by the Soil Conservation Service. [Wikipedia]
• What took down this Kansas bank? It’s a secret, but what saved depositors isn’t. [Kansas Reflector]
• A $12 Million Request to Cover a Crypto Scam Sank a Bank CEO [Bloomberg]
• Testimony of: Shan Hanes before the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance regarding Providing Equal Opportunity to Credit for Kansas [January 19, 2021]
• ‘Huge scam’ in rural Kansas town fells fourth U.S. bank in 2023 [Kansas Reflector]
• Shan Hanes Bio [U.S. Congress]
• A bank failure shattered trust in this Kansas town. Only honest talk will heal it. [Kansas Reflector]
• Dream First Bank, National Association, of Syracuse, Kansas, Assumes All of the Deposits of Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas [FDIC]
• HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMODITY EXCHANGES, ENERGY, AND CREDIT OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS [Nov 19, 2019; Dec. 11, 2019]
• ‘Huge scam’ in rural Kansas town fells fourth U.S. bank in 2023 [Kansas Reflector]
• FinCEN Alert on Prevalent Virtual Currency Investment Scam Commonly Known as “Pig Butchering” [FinCEN]
• Former Kansas bank executive charged with embezzling $47 million [DOJ]
• Fmr. executive pleads guilty after losing bank’s $47.1 million in crypto scheme [DOJ]
• Failed Bank Information for Heartland Tri-State Bank, Elkhart, KS [FDIC]
• Heartland Tri-State Bank - Elkhart, KS Frequently Asked Questions [FDIC]
• Material Loss Review of Heartland Tri-State Bank [OIG FRB CFPB]
• Material Loss Review of Heartland Tri-State Bank Evaluation Report [OIG FRB CFPB]
• Former Kansas bank executive charged with embezzling $47 million [DOJ]
• Fmr. executive pleads guilty after losing bank’s $47.1 million in crypto scheme [DOJ]
• Pig Butchering Scams: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [YouTube]

As a co-teacher of Stanford University’s Introduction to Cybersecurity course, Riana Pfefferkorn regularly had to guide enterprising students away from violating the law. And it was one of those laws, the federal wire fraud statute, that initially caused her to connect with Caleb and Greg. In this conversation, the three of them discuss Jeff Skilling, cybersecurity, hacker movies, and more.

Sponsors
MakersHub- https://ohmyfraud.promo/makershub
RightRev - https://ohmyfraud.promo/rightrev
Settle - https://ohmyfraud.promo/settle

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH RIANNA
Rianna Pfefferkorn [LinkedIn]
https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/about/people/riana-pfefferkorn

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

Stanford University Institute for Human-Centerd Artificial Intelligence

Hack Lab: Introduction to Cybersecurity [Stanford Law School]

Riana Pfefferkorn, Shooting the Messenger: Remediation of Disclosed Vulnerabilities as CFAA “Loss” [Richmond Journal of Law & Technology]

Skilling v. United States [Wikipedia]

Gambling is often a factor when a person perpetrates a fraud, sometimes to a shocking degree. Caleb and Greg discuss one such case involving a finance professional who went to extraordinary lengths to change his bad luck.

Sponsors
MakersHub- https://ohmyfraud.promo/makershub
RightRev - https://ohmyfraud.promo/rightrev
Settle - https://ohmyfraud.promo/settle

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

1-800-GAMBLER is the phone number for the National Problem Gambling Helpline. It serves as a resource for individuals who may be struggling with problem gambling or gambling addiction, or their loved ones.

Sources: 

How one ‘super basic’ man stole $22M from his hometown Jaguars and became ‘the biggest loser ever on FanDuel’ — News4JAX

Private jets, gambling and a Trevor Lawrence jersey: A detailed look at what Amit Patel paid for with stolen Jags money — News4JAX

The Jaguars’ $22 million question: How did four years of theft go undetected? — New York Times

Ex-Jaguars employee Amit Patel sentenced to prison for fraud — ESPN

Ex-Jags employee gambled with company card at former job — ESPN

Middle District of Florida | Former Jacksonville Jaguars Employee Sentenced To More Than Six Years For Embezzling In Excess Of $22 Million — DOJ

​​Trevor Lawrence — Spotrac.com

• (00:00) - Every Kid Dreams of Becoming a Professional Athlete

More than four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, stories of regular people and their ill-fated schemes to exploit pandemic aid programs continue to emerge. In this episode, Caleb and Greg discuss some of the cases featured in the 2024 COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force Report.

Sponsors
G-Accon - https://ohmyfraud.promo/gaccon
Keeper - https://ohmyfraud.promo/keeper
Blue Onion - https://ohmyfraud.promo/blueonion

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

• COVID-19 FRAUD ENFORCEMENT TASK FORCE 2024 REPORT [DOJ]
• How to Catch Pandemic Fraud? Prosecutors Try Novel Methods. [NYT]

Maryland

• Prince George’s County Man Pleads Guilty to a Federal Wire Fraud Conspiracy to Obtain Over $750,000 in COVID-19 CARES Act Loans and Unemployment Insurance Benefits [DOJ]
• Prince George’s County Man Pleads Guilty To A Federal Wire Fraud Conspiracy To Obtain Over $1 Million In Covid-19 Cares Act Loans And Unemployment Insurance Benefits [DOJ]
• Prince George’s County Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for a Conspiracy to Obtain Over $1 Million in COVID-19 CARES Act Loans and Unemployment Insurance Benefits [DOJ]

Florida

• Seventeen Broward Sheriff’s Office Employees Charged with COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fraud [DOJ]
• Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy convicted at trial of COVID-19 relief fraud [DOJ]
• Florida Deputies Charged With Defrauding Covid Funds of Nearly $500,000 [NYT]
• Former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy sentenced for Paycheck Protection Program fraud [Local10]
• South Florida Man Sentenced to Prison for Covid-19 Relief Fraud, After Buying Jewelry and Luxury Cars with Loan Money [DOJ]
• Miami woman sentenced to 70 months in prison after using COVID-19 funds to gamble and launder money [DOJ]

Alpaca Farm

• Former North Shore Pizzeria Owner Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for COVID Fraud [DOJ]
• Man Gets 2 Years in Prison for Spending Pandemic Money on Alpaca Farm [NYT]

Final

• New Jersey Tax Preparer Charged in COVID-19 Employment Tax Credit Scheme [DOJ]
• CFO, Controller, Corporate Officers Charged in $53 Million Fraud Scheme Involving Pandemic Relief [DOJ]
• Former Florida State Representative Sentenced To Federal Prison For Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, And Making False Statements In Connection With COVID-19 Relief Fraud [DOJ]

Think you’re too smart to be taken in by a fraudster? If so, that may make you an even bigger mark. In this episode, Caleb and Greg speak with psychologists Dan Simons of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Chris Chabris of the Geisinger Research Institute. Dan and Chris’s new book, “Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It,” goes deep on why we’re all potential victims of clever (or not-so-clever) scams.

Sponsors
G-Accon - https://ohmyfraud.promo/gaccon
Keeper - https://ohmyfraud.promo/keeper
Harbor Compliance - https://ohmyfraud.promo/harbor

Buy Chris's and Dan's Books
Nobody’s Fool 

The Invisible Gorilla

 
Meet Our Guests: 
Daniel Simons [X]

Daniel Simons [LinkedIn]
http://www.dansimons.com

Christopher Chabris [X]

Christopher Chabris [LinkedIn]
http://www.chabris.com

Invisible Gorilla Video [YouTube]

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

The US Postal Service has long been the butt of jokes for poor service, but nothing that comes close to this. In this transatlantic episode, Caleb and Greg unpack the story of hundreds of British subpostmasters whose lives were turned upside down when they were falsely accused of stealing from the Post Office. 

Sponsors
G-Accon - https://ohmyfraud.promo/gaccon
Keeper - https://ohmyfraud.promo/keeper
Harbor Compliance - https://ohmyfraud.promo/harbor

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources: 

Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about — BBC

Secret papers reveal Post Office knew its court defence was false — BBC

British Post Office scandal — Wikipedia

Post Office Horizon scandal explained: Everything you need to know — Computer Weekly

Post Office scandal: from suicides to jail time with child killers — the heartbreaking stories of the postmasters — The Standard

A Brief History of the United States Postal Service -  The Smithsonian

The History of the Post Office — Automatic Access Limited Blog

Royal Mail - Wikipedia

A short history of the Post Office — The History Press 

Post office numbers — House of Commons Library

Subpostmasters get raw deal in Post Office pay structure - Apex Insights

How independent retailers can make money from Post Offices — The Grocer

How to start a post office — PDQ Funding

In many episodes, Greg cites statistics from “A Report to the Nations,” the biennial report on occupational fraud, from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. As luck would have it, the most recent edition dropped in 2024, and so naturally, Caleb and Greg took the opportunity to discuss it.

HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report To The Nations [ACFE]

We all have childhood dreams. Not all of us get to make them come true. In this episode, Caleb and Greg discuss the story of Frederick Darren Berg, who as a boy, developed a fascination with buses, and made them central to multiple ventures in his career.

Sponsors
Webgility - ohmyfraud.promo/webgility 

In less than 10 minutes, you can earn 1 hour of NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

Download the app:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Questions? Need help? Email [email protected].

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

Greg Kyte, CPA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregkyte
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkyte/

Caleb Newquist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnewquist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

Email us at [email protected]

Sources:

• Darren Berg on the Run: Inside the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in Washington State History [Seattle Met]
• Financial empire, luxurious lifestyle were built on a mirage [Seattle Times]
• After spending spree, a reckoning for man behind state’s biggest Ponzi scheme [SeattlePI]
• Berg often portrayed himself as a lawyer [Seattle Times]
• Mercer Island Man Arrested for Ponzi Scheme and Bankruptcy Fraud Darren Berg Defrauded Investors and Allegedly Tried to Hide Assets During Bankruptcy [FBI]
• Mercer Island Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme and Bankruptcy Fraud [FBI]
• American Greed: ‘Seattle Roasted’ [American Greed]
• Inmate who defrauded investors more than $100 million escapes Atwater prison [Merced Sun-Star]
• Prison escape of Darren Berg, Washington’s ‘Mini Madoff,’ is like ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ official says [Seattle Times]
• Washington man who escaped prison following $100M Ponzi scheme possibly went to Brazil [AP]
• Darren Berg: A Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Escapes: Part 1 [The Perfect Scam]
• Darren Berg: A Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Escapes: Part 2 [The Perfect Scam]