Fool Me Once

Why did Bernie Madoff believe he could steal from his own clients so openly? Why did investors fall so easily for Elizabeth Holmes? What leads people like Jeffrey Wigand to risk their careers by blowing the whistle? Forensic accounting expert and documentarian Kelly Richmond Pope takes up these questions in a close look at the people behind financial crime: the perpetrators, the victims and the whistleblowers.

Fraud takes many forms, from Nigerian princes, embezzlers and Ponzi schemers to corporate giants such as Enron and Volkswagen, and it is enormously costly. Consumers, small businesses, governments and corporations together lose trillions of dollars to it every year. Pope argues that because we hear about fraud so often, we have become poor at spotting it and talking about it.

Using real stories and analysis, the book shows fraud as it unfolds. It examines what drives those who commit it, why their targets are so easily deceived, and what gives whistleblowers their moral conviction. It also asks readers to examine their own habits and motivations so they can better protect themselves and their organizations.

Readers are meant to come away with a better understanding of, and perhaps some compassion for, perpetrators, a stronger sense of connection to victims, and respect for those who speak up. The book sets out to challenge assumptions about fraud and about ourselves, and to explain a phenomenon most people only grasp when it is too late.