another crook goes to jail

[notes1]

on Monday, the SEC stated a Massachusetts investment advisor has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to repay over $15m, for fraud. love it when the bad guys got to jail.

oh b/t/w, he was a graduate of Harvard business school.

[olds442jetaway]

White collar or no collar...they all should go. My problem is they get out too soon and start all over again. Some with rap sheets longer than a roll of toilet paper. I have often said...I wish we had a national lotto just to build and staff prisons. Put them in the middle of nowhere. I really don't care. We may have a huge percentage of our population in jail for some years, but I think that would shrink over time knowing the consequences. One huge problem of course is the drugs. Those addicts fear no punishment at all and Heroin will soon take over if we don't nip it in the bud now. That seems to be very unlikely and it affects the entire segment of society rich and poor....smart and not so smart. You can blame the drug cartels all day long, but really we have nobody to blame but ourselves. No demand and the cartels wouldn't even exist.

[notes1]

olds, could not agree more. one added suggestion, let's have a reality tv show that shows what it is really like to be in prison, on 24 hours per day. it just might make people give second thought to committing crime.

due to my posts, I assume folks think I am an advocate for business, especially the financial arena. but, these crooks hurt my business, give us a bad name and need to be prosecuted. take away all the money, assets, their kids college money, everything...leave them penniless.

let's also start teaching finance to kids in school. learning about 'diversity' is fine, but too many know nothing about money, savings, credit, compounding, investing, etc.   

[notes1]

along the same line of criminal fraud, the DOJ reported today that in 2016 it's 'largest takedown' of MEDICARE fraud, totaling $900m. involved doctors, therapists, clinic operators, etc. one doctor alone stole $38m.

this is the amount they caught, wonder how much more taxpayer money was wasted?   

[DaBurglar]

on Monday, the SEC stated a Massachusetts investment advisor has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to repay over $15m, for fraud. love it when the bad guys got to jail.

oh b/t/w, he was a graduate of Harvard business school.It was not me......Why were you motivated to point out the fact he went to Harvard business School?    Hell, a large percentage of Wall Street is Ivy league.....if I owned a large intricate, sophisticated business right now that had to employ or be staffed by more than a few people,  I would not go out of my way to hire Ivy league graduates ....... Unless they happen to be like myself, with some type of life experience or special achievement that indicates they are grounded and have dealt with some type of adversity, without some automatic expectation of "special treatment", excessive compensation or entitlement just because they went to a elite school.       What I am also trying to say is Ivy league types are just as capable of being criminals too.......people are people.I agree with everything else said so far in this thread.......I am extremely well versed on the whole MEDICARE fraud and waste situation and I recently read the article in the monthly AARP publication that cited the stats Notes1 just pointed out, except the stats in AARP were even MORE outrageous!     And notes1 is 100% correct....the scope and scale of FRAUD, Waste and Abuse in Medicare (and Medicaid at the state level, the two are closely linked)  is UNKNOWN....no one really knows just how much, how often, how widespread  etc   all this is!!!!!!Seriously,,,,,Medicare & Medicaid, and Healthcare in general, is really the single most problematic domestic issue threatening the stability, prosperity and security of the USA.    There are many facets and issues that fall under, and contribute to this general topic & problem:    The AGING population and the fact people live FAR FAR longer than originally conceived when both Social Security (first in 1935), and then Medicare (second, in the 1960s) were conceived and implemented;   these longer living people consume and cost a huge amount of money, primarily (bit not solely) due to the absurd cost of prescription drugs, which is an inevitable effect of a profit driven capitalist society with its own pharmaceutical industry that has its own LOBBY;   An extremely high rate of unhealthy citizenry, where SMOKING still (S T I L L ) accounts for BILLIONS of dollars each year in costs, an absurdly high Obesity rate (half the country is overweight and 35% is OBESE, and this is INCREASING!)    Such things are UNSUSTAINABLE....Now against all that, you have this antiquated, hopelessly cumbersome "system" that is Medicare, that still relies on PAPERWORK, that is essentially UNMANAGEABLE from the point of view of the government trying to adequately screen and prevent fraud/abuse/waste.    The government is only able to REACT to cases of the most obvious, and egregiously STUPID instances of fraud and abuse, where the perpetrators essentially MAKE themselves get caught,  OR a whistle blower actually turns them in (but sadly, many cases of "whistle blowers" turn out to be simply disgruntled employees or patients, or some senile 89 year old reporting she saw her doctor "Waste" a tongue depressor or some absurd thing.....in other words the Government investigative and oversight services are easily overwhelmed and buried.The AARP article I read basically stated that so long as a doctor, or clinic or medical facility that is engaging in fraud or abuse follows the anitquated regs of medicare and does not do anything outrageously stupid or obvious, there is very little chance they will get "caught" unless the government makes a concentrated effort to do so (or again, a whistle blower emerges)......That is a distressing thought!When you look at what has bankrupted the USA over the last 30 years, several things stand out, but expenditures within and related to Medicare are a big part (and will become increasingly BIGGER as each year progresses!)  So what is to be done about this??   FOr starters, the government needs to focus on prescription prices and start buying for its Prescription Drug porgram in a smart, efficient manner.....this would be a HUGE first step in the right direction and, while it would not solve everything, would at least take a lot of heat off and slow down the rate of approaching calamity!    It is high time the Government simply follow the lead of countires like Canada & many European nations when it comes to PRESCRIPTION DRUGS (not other aspects of CAnada's system).....we need to expose congressmen and senators who are in the pocket of BIG PHARMA, who prevent significant reform to Medicare's prescription drug coverage and how the US Government buys drugs!    Sidenote:   Someone mentioned the Heroin crisis (or "opioid epidemic") before:    a HUGE reason why this is such a big issue is the fact that for the past several decades, several large drug companies were pushing prescription painkillers with specific patents (Oxycontin being the most famous, made by Purdue Pharma here in Connecticut) and they were allowed to PUSH PUSH PUSH these drugs to doctors and patients in excessive amounts and at exorbitant prices while falsely claiming their specific formulation is "NOT really" addictive!!!!!   Wrong!!!   And now we have a so-called "epidemic" of addiction and Overdose because, in part, people were overprescribed for years.....there is a lot more to it, but it is all related.Other than adopting a smarter, more efficient drug policy (legal and illegal), the USA needs to accept that its way of dispensing healthcare is no longer sustainable,   Obamacare is NOT the permament, final solution, but it is a STARTING point for future, more intelligent and comprehensive measures and methods........we need s NATIONAL, uniform and FAIR system of simply treating ALL persons in this country, regardless of age, sex, race, or income/employment!  Health care is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT, not a commodity or privilege.    THAT is the only morally acceptable viewpoint......their is NO Pricetag on a human life, and therefore, healthcare needs to be rethought in that context!

[DaBurglar]

Some things to ponder too:Why on earth are cigarettes still allowed to be made and sold ?????    Why is it we can spend TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS on defense and weapons systems that are so wasteful and represent such futility, whereby we spend 15 plus years occupying barren hostile countries on the other side of the world where much of those TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars end up disappearing, all the while alienating the very people we claim to want to help because we refuse to learn about their culture and religion and instead FORCE FEED democracy to people who have no clue at all what it is, or how it works, and DON'T want to learn..........and yet, right in our own backyard (more or less) in Mexico and down in central and South America, we have TONS AND TONS AND TONS of dangerous, destructive drugs being made, transported and then sold to our cizitizens (including children).......which represents the greater threat to national security (as well as ANY OTHER type and definition of security and wellbeing!)??????    Seriously, we know where these drugs are being made/grown, why cant we temporarily send this "SUPER DUPER" military we have down south and seek and destroy all these drug cartels and organizations?!?   and then take a SMALL portion (say 10 billion, give or take) of the money blown on gas stations and Dairy Queens in Afghanistan and instead provide TREATMENT (and other things) to any and all drug addicts in the USA that need it?!?!Or does all that make too much sense?  

[notes1]

mentioned Harvard because the article stated it in the first few lines. just want to be accurate.

cigs are sold because people should have a choice to kill themselves, if they want. why do cars need to go faster than allowable speed limit. too much booze, too much food will also kill you. quit trying to regulate everyone.

the government loves cigs because they tax the hell out of them.

if you believe government spending is good for the economy, then what is wrong with the spending that results from fraud of government spending? even the crooks spend their ill gotten gains to employ people, buy goods and services.      

[DaBurglar]

mentioned Harvard because the article stated it in the first few lines. just want to be accurate.

cigs are sold because people should have a choice to kill themselves, if they want. why do cars need to go faster than allowable speed limit. too much booze, too much food will also kill you. quit trying to regulate everyone.

the government loves cigs because they tax the hell out of them.

if you believe government spending is good for the economy, then what is wrong with the spending that results from fraud of government spending? even the crooks spend their ill gotten gains to employ people, buy goods and services.      What is your point in all this??   What exactly do you believe in?   What is the role of government?  what types (and levels of spending) are ok with you?  I do NOT "love" spending......unreal!!  and I am not trying to REGULATE everyone, whereas you.......what the hell do you believe in regulating?     Why dont you vote libertarian?  I would applaud you for doing so, because at least then you drop the HYPOCRISY that is rife in Republican thinking & views......Here again, you somehow portrayed everything I said in totally a way I did not say or intend....why do you do that?   You don't like the fact I am right way more than you want to admit so you concoct some phony disagreement or discord?    This has to be why you so often resort to the lazy retort that "people like me think that ONLY THEY ARE RIGHT and ONLY THEY have the answers."       You seem to resent anyone who tries to make sense, or balance their arguments, or actually have a real BONAFIDE answer or solution to a problem....which is exactly the state of the republican party as we speak:  The party of gridlock, NO solutions, no action, no answers;  Denial; Myopia; Division.....and now they are reaping what they have sown.The really sad part is we are now all STUCK with a Democratic party for at least the next four years by default.....a party overrun with LGBT ABORTION HAPPY Morally bankrupt zealots  who practice a more subtle form of racism than the blunt style favored by Republicans (Yes I said it....both parties are racist.)  

[notes1]

not smart enough to know the exact amount that federal spending should be, but know that when it eats up 22% of total GDP, it s too much.

I don't believe all you say is wrong. I just react when I think you are wrong. you never addressed my assertion that government is not as beneficial to the economy as private spending. I obviously don't think you believe fraud spending is ok, just trying to make a point.

regulation...it seems to be the answer to all that ails us. but, folks don't realize that regulation comes with a very expensive price tag. do we really need hair stylists to be licensed/regulated? do we need the government telling us what size soft drinks you can consume? how about smarter consumers, if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

you are a smart guy, you should know that small business is the life blood of our economy, the real job creaters. they simply cannot afford the never ending regulations and associated costs.

[DaBurglar]

You win......I quit/surrender/take five/going to bed......I'll address this last post of yours comprehensively to try and demonstrate why I concede.......not smart enough to know the exact amount that federal spending should be, but know that when it eats up 22% of total GDP, it s too much.
    OK, again, I am not in favor of waste and unfair spending, but I do not arbitrarily decide that 22%, or 23%  or 19% or 20%, or ANY NUMBER is too much or too big, and here is why:   it all depends on what the MONEY is actually being spent on and what NEEDS and issues and demands there are for spending.   IF the Earth is being invaded by cannibalistic aliens and the Government needs (NEEDS) to spend 89% to defeat the aliens to save humanity, then 89% is NOT too much.    Or if the permafrost in Greenland keeps melting, and long dormant viruses and bacteria that have been frozen for 10,000 years are suddenly released and start killing people at a 90% mortality rate, and it requires the Government to spend 71% of GDP in order to fight the virus(es) and save whats left of people, then 71% is NOT too much.   You see where I am going.....I agree with you, the current 22% is suspect and includes lots of waste fraud and abuse (everywhere.....social assistance, Defense, Medicare etc), but it also includes a lot of things we need, and it DOES NOT include (or includes very little) for many things the government SHOULD be spending on but is not
(like Infrastructure just to name one general VITAL thing, or Veterans Benefits which still suck)      its a complex subject that NEVER receives a fair or intelligent assessment, as there are too many pork programs, too many tit for tat deals with congressmen and private sector lobbyists, etc don't believe all you say is wrong. I just react when I think you are wrong. you never addressed my assertion that government is not as beneficial to the economy as private spending. I obviously don't think you believe fraud spending is ok, just trying to make a point.
Yes, of course, Normal economic related spending/growth and activity is much better for the economy than Government induced spending, BUT there are many limited exceptions and again, you must assess WHAT is being spent and WHY to make this determination.   Even SUPPLY SIDE (i.e. voodoo) Right Wing Conservative Economists concede that SOMETIMES some government spending at the right time is a GOOD THING for the overall economy.    But not what OUR government has been doing since 1980 ringing up a 20 Trillion debt and climbing......too much of that 20 trillion was wasted on defense, things that we bought or spent on that we will never ever get a return or use out of!   regulation...it seems to be the answer to all that ails us. but, folks don't realize that regulation comes with a very expensive price tag. do we really need hair stylists to be licensed/regulated? do we need the government telling us what size soft drinks you can consume? how about smarter consumers, if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
I agree, the hair dresser thing is dumb, and its easy to over regulate when certain people get on a roll (like certain "groups" fixated on one single issue or cause).....but I also think its a good idea that we have things like a FDA to regulate the stuff that can be sold to us to eat, drink and take medicine for.....history has shown what happens when there is NO real powerful oversight body (research the "patent Medicine phase" of American history from 1880 through 1915....the first Opioid Drug epidemic took place back then when people were consuming opioids in just about ANYTHING they bought at the general store!)    Likewise with our favorite topic, Casino Oversight.......I know you agree with me here, there is a need for SOME sort of government entity to keep things in line.      
you are a smart guy, you should know that small business is the life blood of our economy, the real job creaters. they simply cannot afford the never ending regulations and associated costs.I am not that smart......at age 5 I realized I would never be able to dig ditches or build houses so I had no choice, I had to read and study and "know stuff/"  Trust me, I would much rather have been running around outside raising hell, and that has stayed with me all my life (probably why I spend time in casinos....as a "Smart guy" I know full well just how "DUMB" spending lots of time in casinos can be, but alas, I am a hellraiser at heart, except I was born with a disease that gets me hurt when I raise too much hell, so I need to spend time on things that go easy on the bones.....I have not broken a bone yet playing poker or VP!You are right Small Business IS important, and is ONE of the primary pillars of the economy.....but things are changing and evolving, and you MUST keep that in mind.  The importance of Small Businesses in employing people has changed in the last decade and a half due to the HUGE, VAST technological revolutions in computers and automation......obviously ALL forms of employment, factories, shopping malls etc have been greatyl reduced due to machines and computers eliminating MILLIONS of jobs, and likewise with small businesses, there has been a shift.....the good news is the internet is the single greatest wealth creation and small business driver in history so that has helped offset other negative forces for employment......but alas, the internet does need regulation (obviously) and we see why everytime someone has their ID stolen and cash depleted, or some moron gets busted for illegal images of 10 year olds!I concede.....you know what you know and it is not far from what I know!!!!!