Masters of deception : the worldwide white collar crime crisis /

While crimes such as misuse of stolen credit cards and ATM cards are hardly news to most Americans, this shocking study by a former State Department intelligence officer details the vast extent of white-collar crime today‘an estimated $300 billion annually‘and concentrates on high-level targets. Mizell considers areas such as education, medicine, the law, charities, insurance, religion and banking, and shows that individuals in highly regarded professions have perpetrated enormous thefts. His survey suggests that nobody can operate a better scam on Medicare and Medicaid than a doctor, nobody knows how to manipulate and evade the law better than a lawyer, nobody is more able to unbalance a bank's ledgers than a banker. He does not ignore the sufferings of victims, such as the American public, stuck with a $500 billion tab for the S&L losses; the followers of Jim Bakker, bilked of $158 million by his PTL ministry; and a mentally disabled woman whose lawyer stole $35,000 from her. Each of the seven chapters ends with a list of helpful tips for fighting back. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved