Sunday, May 10, 2009

Ah, those were the days...

Exclusive: Confessions of a Mortgage Scammer - ABC News: "Dawson admitted he ran a Ponzi scheme: He convinced his clients to take equity out of their homes and invest it in his hedge fund. But that 'hedge fund' didn't actually exist, he said, and he pocketed the money. When he had to, he paid off old investors with new investors' money.

During the housing boom, Dawson took advantage of desperate homeowners, eager-to-lend banks and lax regulations to steal millions."

-------------
But these days, what is a con artist to do? Nobody is buying anything, the banks don't want to lend, and suddenly Fannie Mae is getting picky.

Look at what this guy did. It was a calculated ripoff and he, along with untold others, got away with it for a long time.

Just speaking hypothetically, I wonder what would happen if, instead of a five year sentence, we handled this Chinese style: the government would take about a dozen of these crooks and have them summarily executed. That would be a provocative little example for others, wouldn't it? I realize we don't do things that way. It's just a thought experiment.

No comments: