GREED

Wall Street Crimes

Darren Freeman

• Publisher: Royal Creek Publishing House
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781733572743
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Banks & Banking
• Index: Economics

Wall Street is the hub of money since it encapsulates big businesses and bank culture. This money grants Wall Street a lot of influence over the economy and Capitol Hill. This wealth can be really toxic to healthy politics and free economy processes. This power and sway over the country make it really hard for the masses to get their needs fulfilled. This is because the political influence of banks through campaign contributions and lobbying can sway decisions to soothe their personal greed.
This Book Reviews 15 of the Most Corrupt and Greedy Men to ever assault Wall Street

Notorious Wall Street Traders

For a long time, the greed of Wall Street traders went unchecked. Their influence over the political and economic climate of the country made them think that they were above the law. However, money couldn’t get them out of every crime that they committed. These traders tried to play the game, but their fraud and Ponzi schemes led to dire consequences. There are 15 notorious Wall Street criminals who were caught for stealing and money laundering. Their crimes led to a lot of harm to the economic situation of many people around the globe.

Michael Milken

Michael Robert Milken is an American financier who became famous when he was charged with 98 counts of fraud and racketeering in 1990. He was born in 1946 and received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He was once the main bond trader in Former Drexel Burnham Lambert. He was the mind behind high-yield or junk bonds during the 1980s. His high-yield bond trading department led to a 100% return on investment, making him one of the most brilliant financial traders at the company.

He leveraged a buy-out for companies who were almost shut out of the market because of their low credit scores. This system of trading bonds is still in place because it was surely a great way to accumulate wealth and save jobs. By 1976, he was making an estimate of $5 million a year. However, soon the success started going to his head and being a millionaire wasn’t enough.

He began to indulge in illegal transactions and used tactics like stock manipulation, insider trading, fraud, and even buying stocks on behalf of other people. He facilitated many activities of LBO firms like green mailers and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Milken leveraged great buyouts with a highly confidential letter from Drexel that promised to raise the debt in time to fulfill the obligations by the buyer. However, this letter wasn’t actually true but was the perfect tool to create a market for any sort of bond. The letters demonstrated the ability of the client to pay the loan even if they did not actually have the financial prowess to do so.

He soon became the face of a large insider trading investigation and pleaded guilty to six counts of tax and securities violations in 1990. Milken even had to pay approximately $1.1 billion in fines to the SEC, court, and Drexel investors. He also faced a lifetime ban on involvement in the industry of securities and served 22 months in jail.

His crimes have been widely debated. Milken believed that the regulations and rules under securities law hindered the free flow of trade. Many argue that Milken never actually performed any illegal acts but encouraged his colleagues to do them on his behalf. Whatever the case, Milken did indeed use the law as more of a suggestion. His career as a trader led to him accumulating wealth really quickly and the rate at which his bank account filled shows that it wasn’t entirely legal.

Barry Minkow

Barry Jay Minkow was born in 1966 and was a former American businessman. He founded the ZZZZ Best business while he was still in high school. On the surface, the company appeared to be a restoration and carpet-cleaning company. However, the business was actually a front to attract potential investors in a huge Ponzi scheme. In the beginning, Minkow actually stole his family’s jewelry, staged break-ins, ran up fraud credit cards, and used check kiting to create for his ‘company’.

He created a series of fake documents and even rented offices to appear like a legitimate company after he set up an insurance restoration business. The restoration business was called Interstate Appraisal Services. Banks began to invest in the company and all of this cash went straight into Minkow’s pockets.

He invested some of this cash into ZZZZ Best and it was actually applauded for the quality of its services in many places. He raised money with floating funds with different banks and factoring his accounts receivable for work under contracts. One major mistake he made was taking the company public and investigators soon found that only 14% of revenue by ZZZZ Best was actually real. It collapsed in 1987 and ended up costing lenders and investors a huge amount of $100 million.

This was one of the biggest investment and accounting frauds ever performed by a single person. This Ponzi scheme actually became a model for many other ventures started by criminals all over the world. It is one of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person, as well as one of the largest accoun...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• A Culture of Toxic Greed
• Notorious Wall Street Traders
• Conclusion