San Antonio College Library

"This dramatic film, a presentation of the United States Postal Inspection Service, tells the story of financial crimes and their efforts to restore the lives that are ruined by these criminals."

"There is an elite crime spree happening in America, and the privileged perps are getting away with it. Selling loose cigarettes on a city sidewalk can lead to a choke-hold arrest, and death, if you are not among the top 1%. But if you're rich and commit mail, wire, or bank fraud, embezzle pension funds, lie in court, obstruct justice, bribe a public official, launder money, or cheat on your taxes, you're likely to get off scot-free (or even win an...

An exposé on the hidden side of global wealth and power, this book explores what is perhaps the most mysterious aspect of global society today. The world of offshore finance is one of dummy companies, shadow bank accounts, post office boxes, foreign registries, and the like, which allow giant corporations--such as Wal-Mart, British Petroleum, and Citigroup--to keep huge profits out of sight of investors, regulators, and the public. A third of the...

A financier with an obscure past, Melmotte moves from Vienna to London, where he opens an office and buys a fine house on Grosvenor Square. He is approached by an American, Hamilton Fisker, to create a company to construct a railroad from Salt Lake City to Veracruz, Mexico. Melmotte's goal is to raise the share price and his commissions with it. The company's board comprises a collection of people entangled in mutually conflicting financial plans...

"The United States has always proved an inviting home for boosters, sharp dealers, and outright swindlers. Worship of entrepreneurial freedom has complicated the task of distinguishing aggressive salesmanship from unacceptable deceit, especially on the frontiers of innovation. At the same time, competitive pressures have often nudged respectable firms to embrace deception. As a result, fraud has been a key feature of American business since its beginnings....

The inside story of Bernie Madoff and his $65 billion Ponzi scheme, with surprising and shocking new details from Madoff himself. Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? These questions have fascinated people ever since the news broke about the respected New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion through a fraud that lasted for decades. Many have speculated...

Though the internet was created by a defense agency, it was embraced by the public as a tool for global communication. This video explains how, using a carrot-and-stick approach, the National Security Agency developed alliances with big tech companies to gain access to their customers' data. FISA court orders, top-secret information, and lucrative contracts lured corporations in, but public reaction in the wake of the Snowden revelations has caused...

It was a time when anything seemed possible, and for a few weeks in 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors' money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the "rob Peter to pay Paul" scam to an art form. Ponzi was a likable man. His intentions were noble, his manners impeccable, his sales pitch enchanting. Born to a genteel Italian family, he immigrated to the United States with big dreams but no money....

Academy Award winner Alex Gibney directs a documentary investigating the rise and fall of Theranos, the one-time multibillion-dollar healthcare company founded by Elizabeth Holmes. In 2004, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford to start a company that was going to revolutionize healthcare. In 2014, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes, who was touted as “the next Steve Jobs,” the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world....