From Ponzi to Madoff, financial scandals and scoundrels have caught our attention, but many people cannot recognize the signs until it is too late. The purpose of this course is to explain several scandals, starting with Ponzi, including a discussion on the mechanisms used by these scoundrels, how they manage to break laws but go undetected for a while, and the psychology that explains some of why people fall for these perpetrators.



Pamela Drake has over forty years of experience teaching finance and consulting. She is retired from JMU but continues to consult. She has published more than 10 books and well over 40 articles on finance topics including valuation, financial analysis, and corporate financial decision-making. While at Florida Atlantic University, She presented a series of lectures at their lifelong learning program.