Author: Charles Ponzi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788896617045
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 178
Book Description
The Rise of Mr. Ponzi
Author: Charles Ponzi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788896617045
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 178
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788896617045
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 178
Book Description
Ponzi's Scheme
Author: Mitchell Zuckoff
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812968360
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was raking in more than $2 million a week at his office in downtown Boston. Then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post. A classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing story of the magnetic scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history.
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812968360
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was raking in more than $2 million a week at his office in downtown Boston. Then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post. A classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing story of the magnetic scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history.
Need and Greed
Author: Stewart L. Weisman
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 9780815606109
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
More than just a tale of manipulated financial statements, counterfeit securities, sham transactions, and cyber fraud, this story is intertwined with personalities from among the rich and famous who were involved, in some fashion, such as Governor George Pataki, actress Debbie Reynolds, attorney F. Lee Bailey, and the former chairman of the SEC. In the largest pyramid scheme in American history, the Bennett Companies which even looted their own employee's pension fund, fleeced more than 12,000 investors, 10,000 trade creditors, and 245 banks and financial institutions, of more than $1 billion. A Ponzi scheme-named for Charles Ponzi, who enticed investors with promises of high returns to purchase worthless coupons in the 1920s- was taken to new heights in the 1990s by the Bennett Companies. Extensively documented, Need and Greed follows the human drama as a small-time scam grows exponentially into nationwide holdings of hotels, floating and fixed casinos, office buildings, shopping malls, and other investments. It also allows the reader a rare view into the inner workings of big-time crime, its prosecution, and subsequent civil litigation. Throughout the book, Weisman includes vignettes about hapless investors, portraits of the Bennetts and other key players, the corporate culture at Bennett Funding, and the trappings of the lush Bennett lifestyle.
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 9780815606109
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
More than just a tale of manipulated financial statements, counterfeit securities, sham transactions, and cyber fraud, this story is intertwined with personalities from among the rich and famous who were involved, in some fashion, such as Governor George Pataki, actress Debbie Reynolds, attorney F. Lee Bailey, and the former chairman of the SEC. In the largest pyramid scheme in American history, the Bennett Companies which even looted their own employee's pension fund, fleeced more than 12,000 investors, 10,000 trade creditors, and 245 banks and financial institutions, of more than $1 billion. A Ponzi scheme-named for Charles Ponzi, who enticed investors with promises of high returns to purchase worthless coupons in the 1920s- was taken to new heights in the 1990s by the Bennett Companies. Extensively documented, Need and Greed follows the human drama as a small-time scam grows exponentially into nationwide holdings of hotels, floating and fixed casinos, office buildings, shopping malls, and other investments. It also allows the reader a rare view into the inner workings of big-time crime, its prosecution, and subsequent civil litigation. Throughout the book, Weisman includes vignettes about hapless investors, portraits of the Bennetts and other key players, the corporate culture at Bennett Funding, and the trappings of the lush Bennett lifestyle.
Too Good to Be True
Author: Erin Arvedlund
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101137789
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
The untold story of the Madoff scandal, by one of the first journalists to question his investment practices Despite all the headlines about Bernard Madoff, he is still shrouded in mystery. How did he fool so many smart investors for so long? Who among his family and employees knew the truth? The person best qualified to answer these questions is Erin Arvedlund. In early 2001, she was suspicious of the amazing returns of Madoff's hedge fund. Her subsequent article in Barron's could have prevented a lot of misery, had the SEC followed up. Arvedlund presents a sweeping narrative of Madoff's career-from his youth in Queens, New York, to his early days working for his fatherin- law, and finally to infamy as the world's most notorious swindler. Readers will be fascinated by Arvedlund's portrayal of Madoff, his empire, and all those who never considered that he might be too good to be true.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101137789
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
The untold story of the Madoff scandal, by one of the first journalists to question his investment practices Despite all the headlines about Bernard Madoff, he is still shrouded in mystery. How did he fool so many smart investors for so long? Who among his family and employees knew the truth? The person best qualified to answer these questions is Erin Arvedlund. In early 2001, she was suspicious of the amazing returns of Madoff's hedge fund. Her subsequent article in Barron's could have prevented a lot of misery, had the SEC followed up. Arvedlund presents a sweeping narrative of Madoff's career-from his youth in Queens, New York, to his early days working for his fatherin- law, and finally to infamy as the world's most notorious swindler. Readers will be fascinated by Arvedlund's portrayal of Madoff, his empire, and all those who never considered that he might be too good to be true.
The Ultimate Ponzi
Author: Chuck Malkus
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1455617873
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 187
Book Description
This true crime exposé details the exploits of a Florida lawyer and master con artist who stole more than a billion dollars before getting caught. In what became one of the most ruthless Ponzi schemes in United States history, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein stole $1.4 billion to finance his opulent lifestyle. It’s a story of corruption, murder, sex, and suicide in which no one is innocent. From Rothstein’s humble beginnings in the Bronx through his sudden rise to become one of the most powerful men in Florida, the full story is revealed in The Ultimate Ponzi. An employment lawyer of flamboyant charm and seemingly endless wealth, Rothstein infiltrated South Florida society by posing as a philanthropist. All the while, he was using criminal kingpin methods to corrupt one prominent businessman after another. But in late 2009, South Florida learned that Rothstein was far from generous—he was a destructive con artist who plundered investor accounts to build his own fortune. With photographs and input from community members and psychologists, The Ultimate Ponzi reveals the man behind the scam that deceived hundreds. Despite Rothstein’s lavish lifestyle, he was unable to escape judgment both from the law and from the society he used to manipulate.
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1455617873
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 187
Book Description
This true crime exposé details the exploits of a Florida lawyer and master con artist who stole more than a billion dollars before getting caught. In what became one of the most ruthless Ponzi schemes in United States history, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein stole $1.4 billion to finance his opulent lifestyle. It’s a story of corruption, murder, sex, and suicide in which no one is innocent. From Rothstein’s humble beginnings in the Bronx through his sudden rise to become one of the most powerful men in Florida, the full story is revealed in The Ultimate Ponzi. An employment lawyer of flamboyant charm and seemingly endless wealth, Rothstein infiltrated South Florida society by posing as a philanthropist. All the while, he was using criminal kingpin methods to corrupt one prominent businessman after another. But in late 2009, South Florida learned that Rothstein was far from generous—he was a destructive con artist who plundered investor accounts to build his own fortune. With photographs and input from community members and psychologists, The Ultimate Ponzi reveals the man behind the scam that deceived hundreds. Despite Rothstein’s lavish lifestyle, he was unable to escape judgment both from the law and from the society he used to manipulate.
No One Would Listen
Author: Harry Markopolos
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470919000
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths discuss first-hand how they cracked the Madoff Ponzi scheme No One Would Listen is the thrilling story of how the Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, and his investigative team uncovered Bernie Madoff's scam years before it made headlines, and how they desperately tried to warn the government, the industry, and the financial press. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as well as the world's financial system. The only book to tell the story of Madoff's scam and the SEC's failings by those who saw both first hand Describes how Madoff was enabled by investors and fiduciaries alike Discusses how the SEC missed the red flags raised by Markopolos Despite repeated written and verbal warnings to the SEC by Harry Markopolos, Bernie Madoff was allowed to continue his operations. No One Would Listen paints a vivid portrait of Markopolos and his determined team of financial sleuths, and what impact Madoff's scam will have on financial markets and regulation for decades to come.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470919000
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths discuss first-hand how they cracked the Madoff Ponzi scheme No One Would Listen is the thrilling story of how the Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, and his investigative team uncovered Bernie Madoff's scam years before it made headlines, and how they desperately tried to warn the government, the industry, and the financial press. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as well as the world's financial system. The only book to tell the story of Madoff's scam and the SEC's failings by those who saw both first hand Describes how Madoff was enabled by investors and fiduciaries alike Discusses how the SEC missed the red flags raised by Markopolos Despite repeated written and verbal warnings to the SEC by Harry Markopolos, Bernie Madoff was allowed to continue his operations. No One Would Listen paints a vivid portrait of Markopolos and his determined team of financial sleuths, and what impact Madoff's scam will have on financial markets and regulation for decades to come.
Planet Ponzi
Author: Mitch Feierstein
Publisher: Glacier USA INC
ISBN: 0985036907
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 413
Book Description
"As the global economy struggles to avoid meltdown, so the greatest Ponzi scheme in history approaches its final death rattle. Politicians have stood by and watched the financial industry create a massive overhang of debt, a mountain of low quality assets - and ultimately, an economic disaster which has dwarfed all others. The Eurozone crisis and the LIBOR manipulation scandal are just two symptoms of a much broader problem: one of vastly excessive debt, regulatory failure, a culture of deceit on Wall Street and the City of London, and governments that have promised their citizens far more than they can deliver"--Publisher.
Publisher: Glacier USA INC
ISBN: 0985036907
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 413
Book Description
"As the global economy struggles to avoid meltdown, so the greatest Ponzi scheme in history approaches its final death rattle. Politicians have stood by and watched the financial industry create a massive overhang of debt, a mountain of low quality assets - and ultimately, an economic disaster which has dwarfed all others. The Eurozone crisis and the LIBOR manipulation scandal are just two symptoms of a much broader problem: one of vastly excessive debt, regulatory failure, a culture of deceit on Wall Street and the City of London, and governments that have promised their citizens far more than they can deliver"--Publisher.
Charles Ponzi and the Ponzi Scheme
Author: Charles River Editors
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781691243136
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 34
Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "I went looking for trouble, and I found it." - Charles Ponzi Though few people are familiar with the story of his life, Charles Ponzi's name is almost instantly recognizable thanks to the famous financial scandal named after him. This is somewhat ironic because, while his last name has become synonymous with financial scandal and many recognize how a Ponzi scheme works, some have argued that Ponzi really did not know what he was doing while it was taking place. When reading many of the books and articles written about him, it does seem as though Ponzi believed he would be able to pay back his investors at one point or another. In fact, the scheme that Ponzi created was not a new one - it was historically known as "robbing Peter to pay Paul" - but Ponzi became famous for it because he was able to create a scam in this way on a massive scale. When he was finally caught, it led to the investigation and collapse of several estates and banks, and Massachusetts subsequently found itself in a banking crisis. Moreover, one of the most interesting aspects of the affair is that people from many different social backgrounds and classes were affected by Ponzi's scandal. He took money from teenagers who had savings as low as $20, and he also took millions from New York City's elite. Ponzi's scheme involved scamming investors by promising them a bigger return on their investments than was actually possible. Every investor's money would just be put into a large pool to pay back past investors, and while Ponzi was hardly the first person to engage in such a scheme, the 1920s were ripe for this kind of financial conning. The Roaring Twenties became famous for frivolity, flappers, and Prohibition. Famously depicted in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, life after World War I in America was a time of great spending, and people believed that it as possible for them to make great fortunes, no matter what their social background was. The rich wanted to be richer, and the poor believed that they could also attain a quick rags-to-riches story. This kind of climate was ripe for individuals such as Ponzi to make their mark on history, for better and worse. Charles Ponzi and the Ponzi Scheme: The History and Legacy of 20th Century America's Most Famous Con Artist looks at the elaborate fraud designed by one of America's most notorious criminals. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Ponzi like never before.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781691243136
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 34
Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "I went looking for trouble, and I found it." - Charles Ponzi Though few people are familiar with the story of his life, Charles Ponzi's name is almost instantly recognizable thanks to the famous financial scandal named after him. This is somewhat ironic because, while his last name has become synonymous with financial scandal and many recognize how a Ponzi scheme works, some have argued that Ponzi really did not know what he was doing while it was taking place. When reading many of the books and articles written about him, it does seem as though Ponzi believed he would be able to pay back his investors at one point or another. In fact, the scheme that Ponzi created was not a new one - it was historically known as "robbing Peter to pay Paul" - but Ponzi became famous for it because he was able to create a scam in this way on a massive scale. When he was finally caught, it led to the investigation and collapse of several estates and banks, and Massachusetts subsequently found itself in a banking crisis. Moreover, one of the most interesting aspects of the affair is that people from many different social backgrounds and classes were affected by Ponzi's scandal. He took money from teenagers who had savings as low as $20, and he also took millions from New York City's elite. Ponzi's scheme involved scamming investors by promising them a bigger return on their investments than was actually possible. Every investor's money would just be put into a large pool to pay back past investors, and while Ponzi was hardly the first person to engage in such a scheme, the 1920s were ripe for this kind of financial conning. The Roaring Twenties became famous for frivolity, flappers, and Prohibition. Famously depicted in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, life after World War I in America was a time of great spending, and people believed that it as possible for them to make great fortunes, no matter what their social background was. The rich wanted to be richer, and the poor believed that they could also attain a quick rags-to-riches story. This kind of climate was ripe for individuals such as Ponzi to make their mark on history, for better and worse. Charles Ponzi and the Ponzi Scheme: The History and Legacy of 20th Century America's Most Famous Con Artist looks at the elaborate fraud designed by one of America's most notorious criminals. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Ponzi like never before.
The Summer of Charlie Ponzi
Author: Noel Hynd
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 378
Book Description
One sweltering afternoon late in June 1919, a thirty-seven-year-old clerk named Charles Ponzi, who was employed by a Boston, Massachusetts brokerage house, opened an envelope from Spain and made a startling discovery. The envelope contained a postal reply coupon, something Ponzi had never heard of. The coupon, which the writer in Spain had enclosed to cover the postal reply from the brokerage house, had been purchased in Madrid for the equivalent of one cent in U.S. currency. Yet it was redeemable at any post office or bank in the United States for five cents.Ponzi pursed his lips and looked off into space. Here, he decided, was something worthy of serious investigation. So began a unique story in the history of American crime, and so begins 'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi, ' the newest novel by espionage and crime author Noel Hynd. 'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' is based on the true story of the involvement and reporting of his father, Alan Hynd, in the infamous Ponzi case in 1919 and 1920.Boston in the years after World War One was a bustling, booming metropolis, the fifth-largest city in the United States. The Roaring Twenties were underway. Immigrants from all over the world poured into Prohibition-era Boston. So did young, first-generation American men and women anxious to seek their fortune. America, and Boston in particular, was a wide-open place, filled with crime, jazz, flappers, a new easy morality, and speakeasies. There were two great baseball clubs - the Braves and the Red Sox - and six daily newspapers.Newspapers were everywhere. There were newsstands at North Station, in front of Symphony Hall, in front of Filene's, and in the streets of Charlestown, Southie and Dorchester. On the rare blocks with no newsstand, the hoarse, aggressive chant of newsboys filled the air.The Boston Post stood out among the daily papers. It was the fourth-leading morning newspaper in the country in circulation. There were many reasons The Post stood out, but one was city editor Eddie Dunn, the best newspaperman in Boston during the hard-drinking, two-fisted era of the 1920s. Eddie Dunn understood news, how to find it, get it, and sell it.By the end of 1919, Charlie Ponzi had hatched out his scheme: he would build his fortune on postal reply coupons and beat the banks in the money lending game. While banks were paying five percent per year, Ponzi promised investors fifty percent interest in forty-five days. He soon had people lining up at his office on School Street, practically throwing money at him. By April of 1920, Charlie Ponzi was taking in a $250,000 every day in cash as his pyramid scheme swept the city.The offices of The Boston Post were also on School Street. Inevitably, The Post and Ponzi took notice and measure of each other. In the summer of 1920, their worlds collided. When the Ponzi swindle became the biggest local story of the year, even bigger than Sacco and Vanzetti, Eddie Dunn threw every spare reporter onto the story. By this time, Alan Hynd, still in his late teens, had cadged a job as a street reporter for The Post. He had only a few weeks of experience, but Dunn assigned him to his team of top reporters covering the case.'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' is the story of a young man covering the most brazen financial crime of the twentieth century. This hard-edged Jazz-Age tale is full of fascinating women and men drawn from the newsrooms, tenements, speakeasies, high social circles, financial boardrooms, streets, and sidewalks of Boston of the 1920s. Told in the young reporter's sly acerbic voice, the tale is at times brash and hilarious, at times heartbreaking, frequently astonishing, and always riveting.*'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' joins 'Ashes from a Burning Corpse' in the series "An American True Crime Reporter in the 20th Century." The series recounts the major cases of the American reporter who would later become one of the best-known true crime writers of his era
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 378
Book Description
One sweltering afternoon late in June 1919, a thirty-seven-year-old clerk named Charles Ponzi, who was employed by a Boston, Massachusetts brokerage house, opened an envelope from Spain and made a startling discovery. The envelope contained a postal reply coupon, something Ponzi had never heard of. The coupon, which the writer in Spain had enclosed to cover the postal reply from the brokerage house, had been purchased in Madrid for the equivalent of one cent in U.S. currency. Yet it was redeemable at any post office or bank in the United States for five cents.Ponzi pursed his lips and looked off into space. Here, he decided, was something worthy of serious investigation. So began a unique story in the history of American crime, and so begins 'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi, ' the newest novel by espionage and crime author Noel Hynd. 'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' is based on the true story of the involvement and reporting of his father, Alan Hynd, in the infamous Ponzi case in 1919 and 1920.Boston in the years after World War One was a bustling, booming metropolis, the fifth-largest city in the United States. The Roaring Twenties were underway. Immigrants from all over the world poured into Prohibition-era Boston. So did young, first-generation American men and women anxious to seek their fortune. America, and Boston in particular, was a wide-open place, filled with crime, jazz, flappers, a new easy morality, and speakeasies. There were two great baseball clubs - the Braves and the Red Sox - and six daily newspapers.Newspapers were everywhere. There were newsstands at North Station, in front of Symphony Hall, in front of Filene's, and in the streets of Charlestown, Southie and Dorchester. On the rare blocks with no newsstand, the hoarse, aggressive chant of newsboys filled the air.The Boston Post stood out among the daily papers. It was the fourth-leading morning newspaper in the country in circulation. There were many reasons The Post stood out, but one was city editor Eddie Dunn, the best newspaperman in Boston during the hard-drinking, two-fisted era of the 1920s. Eddie Dunn understood news, how to find it, get it, and sell it.By the end of 1919, Charlie Ponzi had hatched out his scheme: he would build his fortune on postal reply coupons and beat the banks in the money lending game. While banks were paying five percent per year, Ponzi promised investors fifty percent interest in forty-five days. He soon had people lining up at his office on School Street, practically throwing money at him. By April of 1920, Charlie Ponzi was taking in a $250,000 every day in cash as his pyramid scheme swept the city.The offices of The Boston Post were also on School Street. Inevitably, The Post and Ponzi took notice and measure of each other. In the summer of 1920, their worlds collided. When the Ponzi swindle became the biggest local story of the year, even bigger than Sacco and Vanzetti, Eddie Dunn threw every spare reporter onto the story. By this time, Alan Hynd, still in his late teens, had cadged a job as a street reporter for The Post. He had only a few weeks of experience, but Dunn assigned him to his team of top reporters covering the case.'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' is the story of a young man covering the most brazen financial crime of the twentieth century. This hard-edged Jazz-Age tale is full of fascinating women and men drawn from the newsrooms, tenements, speakeasies, high social circles, financial boardrooms, streets, and sidewalks of Boston of the 1920s. Told in the young reporter's sly acerbic voice, the tale is at times brash and hilarious, at times heartbreaking, frequently astonishing, and always riveting.*'The Summer of Charlie Ponzi' joins 'Ashes from a Burning Corpse' in the series "An American True Crime Reporter in the 20th Century." The series recounts the major cases of the American reporter who would later become one of the best-known true crime writers of his era
Miles Away... Worlds Apart
Author: Alan Sakowitz
Publisher: Publish Green
ISBN: 0615382401
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
Alan Sakowitz, a whistleblower of a Madoff-like Ponzi scheme masterminded by Scott Rothstein, fraudster extraordinaire, tells of the story of his decision to turn in Rothstein regardless of the possible dangerous ramifications of such a decision. The saga of Rothstein's rise and fall which included a Warren Yacht, two Bugattis, Governor Crist, the former Versace mansion, The Eagles, and even the murder of a law partner, is the stuff that Hollywood movies are made from. Instead of the mere accounting of such a scandal, Sakowitz uses the Rothstein scheme as a cautionary tale in stark contrast to the stories of humble, ethical individuals living within Sakowitz's neighborhood in North Miami Beach, Florida, Sakowitz's neighbors are people who have spent their lives trying to assist others, not line their pockets, and through these stories Sakowitz creates a sharp dichotomy between the greed, of a Rothstein and its mainstream culture of consumption and the charity, kindness and selflessness of a principle-oriented community. Indeed, Sakowitz speaks to the symptoms of a culture that could create a Scott Rothstein, and, though acknowledging that the easy way out is not simple to dismiss, offers remedies to the growing ills of our entitlement society. The answer, Sakowitz says, lies in thinking first of others, and how one's actions should benefit the lives of friends, not one's short-term gratifications.
Publisher: Publish Green
ISBN: 0615382401
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
Alan Sakowitz, a whistleblower of a Madoff-like Ponzi scheme masterminded by Scott Rothstein, fraudster extraordinaire, tells of the story of his decision to turn in Rothstein regardless of the possible dangerous ramifications of such a decision. The saga of Rothstein's rise and fall which included a Warren Yacht, two Bugattis, Governor Crist, the former Versace mansion, The Eagles, and even the murder of a law partner, is the stuff that Hollywood movies are made from. Instead of the mere accounting of such a scandal, Sakowitz uses the Rothstein scheme as a cautionary tale in stark contrast to the stories of humble, ethical individuals living within Sakowitz's neighborhood in North Miami Beach, Florida, Sakowitz's neighbors are people who have spent their lives trying to assist others, not line their pockets, and through these stories Sakowitz creates a sharp dichotomy between the greed, of a Rothstein and its mainstream culture of consumption and the charity, kindness and selflessness of a principle-oriented community. Indeed, Sakowitz speaks to the symptoms of a culture that could create a Scott Rothstein, and, though acknowledging that the easy way out is not simple to dismiss, offers remedies to the growing ills of our entitlement society. The answer, Sakowitz says, lies in thinking first of others, and how one's actions should benefit the lives of friends, not one's short-term gratifications.