Special Report
MarketWatch photo illustration by Brian Aguilar
Financial crime does pay — up to $5,000 a speech
A quirky speakers’ bureau wants to send a financial felon to speak at your company, your university or even your church. MarketWatch interviews the white-collar criminals of The Pros & The Cons.
Six white-collar criminals for hire share their stories
Sam Antar
The CFO behind the Crazy Eddie fraud
Sam Antar, 57, helped create one of the largest securities frauds of the 1980s at the Crazy Eddie electronics stores. He later pleaded guilty and testified against his boss—who happened to be his cousin, Eddie Antar. “Trust is an admirable trait, but it’s also hazardous.”
Amy Wilson
An office manager who embezzled $350,000
Over the course of three years, Wilson bilked the small, family-run manufacturer she worked for, awarding herself cash advances and paying her personal credit-card bills with company checks. “I’ll never forget the look of betrayal in my boss’s eyes.”
Chuck Gallagher
He lured his accounting clients into a Ponzi scheme
Gallagher stole more than $250,000 during a four-year stretch, building
what he calls “a private hedge fund” to pay for a bigger house, better
cars and collectibles. “Most people aren’t Bernie Madoff: They are
making simple, stupid, small choices.”
The CFO behind the Crazy Eddie fraud
Amy Wilson
An office manager who embezzled $350,000
Chuck Gallagher
He lured his accounting clients into a Ponzi scheme
Dan Bubalo
The CEO who says a mistake led to a fraud conviction
Bubalo, the former CEO of a Minneapolis trading company, went to
jail for letting his company sell unregistered bonds to investors.
Bubalo says he thought what he did was legal. “But I couldn’t go in
front of a jury and say the dog ate my homework.”
Aaron Beam
His confession fueled scandal at HealthSouth
As chief financial officer of HealthSouth Corp. in the mid 1990s,
Beam helped cook the health-care company’s books in order to meet
Wall Street analysts’ earnings expectations. Years later, he gave
testimony against his former boss. “When you commit a
cashless crime, it’s easier to rationalize your behavior.”
Vernon Beck
The ex-pilot whose fake company embezzled $13.5 million
A former Air Force fighter pilot, Beck became director of
transportation and logistics at Texas Petrochemical. With a friend,
he set up a fake company and billed his employer for work never
performed—embezzling $13.5 million over 7 years. “It was nothing
more than greed. ... I wish I could blame this on a drug or alcohol
problem.”
The CEO who says a mistake led to a fraud conviction
Aaron Beam
His confession fueled scandal at HealthSouth
Vernon Beck
The ex-pilot whose fake company embezzled $13.5 million
