Lance Armstrong Investigation: French to Give Armstrong's 1999 Samples to Novitzky

Today's cycling news sources are saying that the "French anti-doping agency (AFLD) will provide American federal investigators with Lance Armstrong's urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France."
These are the same samples that I blogged about last fall in discussing Dr. Michael Ashenden's statement that "there is no doubt in my mind he (Lance Armstrong) took EPO during the '99 Tour."

An article in CyclingWeekly states:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: A Doping History of Lance's Tour Teams

FraudBytes encourages guest posts. The following post was written by Mark Fellows, part owner of Kinetic Cycles in Elk Grove, California. Mark originally wrote this commentary on May 21st, 2010 after Floyd Landis alleged that Lance Armstrong was involved in systematic doping for many years. He has updated the post now that Lance Armstrong has officially retired from racing again.


As I’ve read and listened to the press conferences regarding Floyd Landis's accusations along with the denials, the blogs, and other commentary on Lance Armstrong's involvement in doping, I decided I wanted to take a little different slant and provide a few other things to think about. First, these facts should be read in the following context:

The Pros and Cons of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Bounty

I listened to an interesting debate on this topic at this link. Just click on the audio play arrow right under Bernie's picture...

Bernie Madoff Implicates Banks and Hedge Funds

The Correctional Facility that Houses Bernie Madoff

The NY Times is reporting that Bernie Madoff was interviewed in prison and has said that, at least some of, the banks and feeder funds knew he was operating a Ponzi scheme. This is not going to be well received by JP Morgan Chase who is being sued by the Madoff trustee who asserts the bank should have known or did know that Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme. Here are some key paragraphs from the article:

Sir Allen Stanford: Prison Beating and Drug Treatment

Allen Stanford--Accused of $7 billion Ponzi Scheme

Although it's been some time since I've posted anything on Sir Allen Stanford and his $7 billion Ponzi scheme investigation (see this link for prior posts mentioning Stanford), I've been following his case and thought I'd share the latest news on the Knight from Antiqua or the Scammer from Texas, depending on who you talk to.

Stanford was supposed to go to trial last month. However, it appears now that his trial will be postponed for several months. The reason is because he's recovering from his cushy life in prison (not). Just yesterday, in my fraud class, I talked about the myth that white collar criminals have a cushy life in prison. I showed my class what Mark Morze, the former ZZZZ Best fraudster, said about white-collar-prison life.

In an interview several years ago, Morze explained his five years in prison in Lompoc, California. Here are some quotes from an article describing Morze's experience:

Contador Investigation: Ruling Overturned by Spanish Federation

 News reports that are hot off the press are saying that Alberto Contador's one-year suspension has been overturned by the body that gave him the suspension: the Spanish cycling federation.

This is the same body that gave Contador the reduced, one-year, sentence last month! What gives?! Here are my thoughts.

Bernie Madoff News: NY Mets and JP Morgan Chase

The past week has led to two new stories related to Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. I'm going to provide a short blurb and a link to an article in case you want to read more.

Bernie Madoff's Personality Disorder

I read an intriguing article in the International Business Times about Bernie Madoff's personality disorder. According to the article, Madoff and many fraud perpetrators have what is known as "narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a condition in which the sufferer is absolutely convinced that he or she is better than everyone else." Among other things, the article explains the following:

WikiLeaks versus the SEC

No, (to my knowledge) Wikileaks hasn't released detailing corruption in the SEC.  Instead, Sherron Watkins, the primary whistleblower in the Enron fraud, weighed in on the SEC's new incentives for whistleblowers.  In a panel discussion about whistleblowers held by the New York State Society of Public Accountants, Watkins said the following (via the PaperTrail):

Taxi Cab Fraud in Las Vegas: The Fraud Triangle

FraudBytes encourages guest posts. The following post was written by Professor Jason L. Smith, PhD, CPA, who teaches and researches about fraud at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

A recent article by E.C. Gladstone in the Las Vegas Sun details allegations of taxi cab fraud as drivers are taking tourists on “long hauls” around Sin City in order to meet aggressive fare quotas.  Although the author makes no explicit reference to the Fraud Triangle, each of its three elements – pressure, opportunity, and rationalization – are clearly evident in this intriguing description of a serious problem in a city with more than 2,200 taxis serving more than 35 million visitors each year. Below is an analysis of how pressure, opportunity and rationalization all exist in this industry and lead to the fraud detailed in the Las Vegas Sun article.