Writer
Matt Zbrog
Follow the Money
Some of the world’s most malignant criminals never pulled a trigger or detonated an explosive, but they have ruined countless lives. By the most conservative estimates, white-collar crime costs the U.S. $300 billion per year—more than four times the annual budget of the Department of Education. However, in 2017, the prosecution of white-collar crime was at a 20-year low. So why do crimes such as insider trading, embezzlement, predatory lending, Ponzi schemes, and threat financing often go unpunished?
Armed with elite legal teams and well-heeled lobbyists, many white-collar criminals seem untouchable or “too big to jail.” But are they really? The Follow the Money series explores various types of financial crimes and interviews experts in the field on how to bring these robber barons to justice.
Five Most Notorious White-Collar Crimes in U.S. History
January 3, 2019
Something in the American psyche both glorifies and vilifies the criminal capitalist. Stories of bootstrapped “rags-to-riches” men and women dazzle the public, while the details of someone defrauding the working people result in cries for blood.
What is Securities & Commodities Fraud? A Conversation with a Professor
December 22, 2018
A new political tide in America is calling for deregulation and even considering rolling back the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If that happens, the securities and commodities frauds that lay in waiting have the potential to obliterate pension funds and destabilize the global financial marketplace. The need for forensic accountants and financial investigators who have keen minds with integrity to match is dire.
Some of the most devastating crimes of the 21st century have not taken place in a dark alley, but rather in an air-conditioned office with a fountain pen. A conservative estimate puts the cost of white-collar crime at over $250 billion each year, while others suggest it is closer to $500 billion.
What is Money Laundering?
October 25, 2018
Money laundering investigations have busted kingpins of international criminal organizations, prevented terrorists from carrying out attacks, exposed double agent spies, and even contributed to the resignation of a United States president.
Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about the increasing digitization of investigations, the growing importance of forensic science, and emerging areas of investigative practice like open source intelligence (OSINT) and blockchain forensics. His writing and research are focused on learning from those who know the subject best, including leaders and subject matter specialists from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS). As part of the Big Employers in Forensics series, Matt has conducted detailed interviews with forensic experts at the ATF, DEA, FBI, and NCIS.
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