Excitement is a core human emotion.  We like the feeling of excitement.  Excitement invokes a visceral influence which can make life enjoyable, at least certain parts of it.  But white collar criminals and fraudsters are also aware of how powerful an emotion is excitement and, more importantly to them, how it can break down our ability to think rationally and critically analyze details.  For a fraudster, this means that a person who might not normally invest money in a project may just do so if he or she is excited about it. 

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Look at a map of the world.  Now look at the country of Iceland and the island of Greenland (the largest island in the world).  Iceland has some glaciers but, by and large, it is warmed by geothermal energy and is a nice place to live and has been a nice place to live for over a thousand years.  But we call it "ICE-land."  Greenland, however, is covered by a massive glacier and European settlement of the island was sparse at best because it is unsuitable for farming or large-scale settlement.  But we call it "GREEN-land."

Believe it or not, these names were part of the first land frauds in history.  We examine other land fraud schemes from history as well in this podcast.

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I apologize to my listeners for the long delay between episodes.  Work has been very demanding recently and, in addition, I went on a family trip to the United Kingdom.  While I was in London, I was amazed to find shell games and three-card monte games on the streets of London.  These games are literally thousands of years old and the operator of these games can make certain that the players do not win.  What is the appeal of these games in the modern world?  We try and find some answers.

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In January 2020, like most people, I was planning my year.  I had a vacation planned with my family, my trial schedule set (more or less) and an idea of achieving some goals I had set out for myself.  Also in January, I began hearing of a strange virus that originated in Wuhan, China.  Once again, like most people, I ignored it as I thought it would not affect my life.  

I was, of course, incorrect.  The COVID 19 virus has ravaged our world in a manner not seen since the Influenza epidemic of 1918.  The full effects of COVID are still not known.

One effect, however, was all-too predictable.  Fraudsters and white-collar criminals took advantage of relief programs authorized by the Federal government and billions of dollars have gone to waste.  We explore some of the crimes that have occurred with COVID fraud.  

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Corruption is a major factor in the world today (unfortunately) but this is nothing new.  Corruption is as old as human civilization itself.  But in the modern world, corruption can affect the economic and  social development of countries

In this podcast, I discuss corruption and the negative (and sometimes paralyzing) effect it can have on entire nations. 

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PTL - People that Love!  PTL - Praise the Lord!  

Or -PTL - Pass the Loot.  If you were alive in 1980s' in the US, you would hear the words of Jim and Tammy Bakker on the PTL network.  According to Jim Bakker - PTL stood for People that Love or Praise the Lord.  But as investigations into the financial improprieties of the PTL network learned, much of the monies that were intended for use for religious matters were diverted to the pocketbooks of Jim and Tammy Bakker - the leaders of PTL.  Finally, in 1987, it was disclosed that Jim Bakker paid $279,000.00 to a church secretary as hush money for sexual improprieties.  The televangelist world of high-profile churches would never be the same.  

Ra-Ra Rasputin, Lover of the Russian Queen!  There was a cat that really was gone!  Ra-Ra Rasputin, Russia's greatest love machine!  It was a shame how he carried on!  (song by Boney M - Ra-Ra Rasputin!)

     Gregorij Efimovich, known to history as Rasputin, indirectly caused the fall of a 300 year old Imperial dynasty and the rise of the USSR.  How did a peasant born in a nowhere village in the Russian Empire, the largest country on Earth at the time, rise to become a confidant of the Imperial Family?  Rasputin is one of the strangest characters in all of history.  In this first part of a two-part episode, we examine Rasputin through the lens of a person working a con.  Rasputin is often called the "mad monk."  But Rasputin was never an ordained monk.  He could, however, be called one of history's greatest con artists.  

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In 1965, Frank Herbert, already a well-known science-fiction writer, published Dune.  Dune quickly became a best-seller in the realm of science-fiction and is now considered a classic of the genre.  Herbert followed up Dune with five other novels set in his Dune universe.  A 1984 film directed by David Lynch received mixed reviews but the 2021 version by director Dennis Villanueve is an Oscar winner with universally strong reviews.  

Even in the science-fiction world of Dune, however, human nature has not changed.  One of the underlying motivations of the main character, Vladimir Harkonnen, is to commit fraud against the ruling Emperor and in doing so, become very wealthy.  In the Dune universe, where the most important and valuable substance in the galaxy is found only one one planet, and a planet with an insanely harsh climate and hostile indigenous lifeforms at that, fraud can still be found.

Let's take a break from the 21st century on planet Earth and visit a far future where computers are outlawed but human potential powers the galaxy.  The spice must flow!

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Unfortunately, Enron is not the only major financial scandal to be part of the history of Houston.  Robert Allen Standford, once knighted and known as "Sir" Allen Stanford, perpetuated one of the largest Ponzi schemes and financial fraud in the history of the United States - second only to Bernie Madoff.  Stanford was convicted for his crimes and is now serving a 110 year sentence.  We examine Allen Stanford's unique Ponzi scheme using an offshore bank that he himself owned.  

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In late February, the Russian Armed Forces invaded the Ukraine, an independent nation since 1992.  It was expected that the Russian armed forces would easily defeat the Ukrainians and the entire operation would be over in a matter of days.  As of this podcast, two weeks into the invasion, the Russians are facing severe resistance and are far from their goals of conquering the Ukraine.  It is now clear that one of the reasons for the abject failure of the Russian Armed Forces is corruption in Russia itself in which individuals have stolen monies intended for the Armed Forces and instead used these monies for personal gain.  Corruption can affect and even destroy entire nations.  What is occurring now with Russia is a stark example.

I apologize for the break in the podcast where I am interrupted.  Once again, I am still learning this new equipment.

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