We recently presented a look at some of the most notorious financial felons of contemporary times.

Since then, news has included the indictment of Mark Cuban for insider trading in a case that is somewhat reminiscent of Martha Stewart's case. According to the SEC, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his broker to sell all his shares of Mamma.com after the company's CEO confidentially told him of an impending stock offering that would dilute the value of all existing shares. By selling before the information became public, Cuban is said to have sidestepped losses of more than $750,000. Cuban insists, though, that no agreement existed to keep the information confidential.

And then there was the indictment in Texas of Vice President Dick Cheney, along with former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others. There seems to be a conflict of interest between the vice president's influence on the federal agency that oversees federal immigration detention centers and his substantial holdings in Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies. But does the lame-duck county district attorney, who was a no-show in court, have the authority to bring charges against federal officials with regard to federally run institutions?

Continue reading Financial Felons: Where are they now and is there a next generation coming?

Financial Felons: Where are they now and is there a next generation coming? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

Unlike many of our leading financial felons, Jack Abramoff was not a trader or financier. Instead, he was primarily a political operative who managed to turn access and influence in Washington D.C. into a very profitable business. Actually, "criminal enterprise" is probably a better term, as Abramoff is currently serving a five-year prison sentence at a prison camp in Maryland.

Abramoff was a very busy guy and summarizing his misdeeds isn't easy. Highlights of his activities include bribing public officials, stealing from Native American tribes, tax evasion, wire and mail fraud, interfering with the court system in Guam, and defrauding the owners of a Florida cruise line. And then there's the allegation that he had a man killed in Florida.

Abramoff's main business was selling access to the Bush administration. His crimes reveal a lot about the legal and regulatory environment created during the Bush years, an environment that made Abramoff and so many other high-performing felons possible. His career serves as a kind of summary of all that is wrong with the Republican right -- what Bill Moyers calls the "reptilian right" that seeks power though ideological purity but only for the purpose of self-enrichment. Abramoff's power and riches were inseparable from his ties to the Republican Party, which he began serving as the chairman of the College Republican National Committee, joining a long line of operatives including the illustrious Karl Rove.

Continue reading Financial Felons: Jack Abramoff

Financial Felons: Jack Abramoff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.