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Darren Berg
Frederick Darren Berg (born Frederick Darren Muskopf; May 17, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, business executive, convicted Ponzi scheme operator, and prison escapee. He is the founder of MTR Western, a motorcoach operator headquartered in Seattle. He sold fraudulent investments through the Meridian Group, a group of investment companies, defrauding nearly 700 investors who lost almost $150 million, and he was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2012. He has been nicknamed "Mini Madoff" for his crimes' similarity to those of Bernie Madoff. Berg escaped from prison in 2017. Early life Berg was born with the name Frederick Darren Muskopf on May 17, 1962 in Ashland, Oregon, and grew up in Grants Pass, about an hour to the northwest. Darren's sister Wendy described their parents' relationship as abusive. "When he was a tiny boy, and my dad would be beating on my mother, he would crawl under the bed," said Wendy about Darren. Darren's grandfather drove for Greyhound Lines, a fact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponzi Scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity (e.g., product sales or successful investments), and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds. A Ponzi scheme can maintain the illusion of a sustainable business as long as new investors contribute new funds, and as long as most of the investors do not demand full repayment and still believe in the non-existent assets they are purported to own. Some of the first recorded incidents to meet the modern definition of the Ponzi scheme were carried out from 1869 to 1872 by Adele Spitzeder in Germany and by Sarah Howe in the United States in the 1880s through the "Ladies' Deposit". Howe offered a solely female clientele an 8% monthly interest rate and then stole the money that the women ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a second Nordstrom's shoe store opened in 1923. The growing Nordstrom Best chain began selling clothing in 1963, and became the Nordstrom full-line retailer that presently exists by 1971. The company founded its off-price Nordstrom Rack division in 1973, and grew both full-line and off-price divisions throughout the United States in the following years before expanding into Canada in 2014. In the American market, it competes with department stores including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Early history John W. Nordstrom was born on February 15, 1871, in the town of Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Greed
''American Greed'' (also known as ''American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals'' and as ''American Greed: Scams, Schemes and Broken Dreams'') is an American documentary television series on CNBC. The series focuses on cases of Ponzi schemes, embezzlement and other white collar crimes and features interviews with police investigators, fraud victims and sometimes fraudsters. It was initially created by Mark Hoffman, the President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Directors of CNBC, and it is produced by Bill Kurtis' Kurtis Productions. The program is narrated by Stacy Keach Jr., who was recruited because Kurtis himself was unavailable for that purpose. It premiered on June 21, 2007. Subjects The business-reality program focuses on the stories behind high-profile corporate and white-collar crimes, betrayals, and scams in American history, including the financial scandals involving WorldCom, HealthSouth, Tyco International, and CyberNET. Besides these high-profi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rio De Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a beta global city, Rio de Janeiro is the sixth-most populous city in the Americas. Part of the city has been designated as a World Heritage Site, named "Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea", on 1 July 2012 as a Cultural Landscape. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a domain of the Portuguese Empire. In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil, a state of the Portuguese Empire. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal. She subsequently, under the leadership of her son the prince regent João VI of Portugal, raised Brazil to the dignity of a k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Person Of Interest
"Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no legal meaning, but refers to someone in whom the police are "interested", either because the person is cooperating with the investigation, may have information that would assist the investigation, or possesses certain characteristics that merit further attention. While terms such as '' suspect'', ''target'', and ''material witness'' have clear and sometimes formal definitions, ''person of interest'' remains undefined by the U.S. Department of Justice. ''Unsub'' is a similar term which is short for "unknown subject" (used in the TV show ''Criminal Minds''). ''Person of interest'' is usually used as a euphemism for '' suspect'', and its careless use may encourage trials by media. With respect to terrorism investigations, Eric Lichtblau wrote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. The AP has earned 56 Pulitzer Prizes, including 34 for photography, since the award was established in 1917. It is also known for publishing the widely used '' AP Stylebook''. By 2016, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters, English, Spanish, and Arabic. The AP operates 248 news bureaus in 99 countries. It also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, paying a fee to use AP material without being contributing members of the cooperative. As part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Penitentiary for the murders of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. Over the following two decades, he befriends a fellow prisoner, contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), and becomes instrumental in a money-laundering operation led by the prison warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton). William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, and James Whitmore appear in supporting roles. Darabont purchased the film rights to King's story in 1987, but development did not begin until five years later, when he wrote the script over an eight-week period. Two weeks after submitting his script to Castle Rock Entertainment, Darabont secured a $25 million budget to produce ''The Shaw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Penitentiary, Atwater
The United States Penitentiary, Atwater (USP Atwater) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Merced County, California. The institution also includes a minimum-security satellite camp. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Atwater is located on land formerly part of Castle Air Force Base. It is near the city of Atwater in Merced County, California, 130 miles from San Francisco. Facility and programs USP Atwater offers various educational programs, including mandatory GED classes for inmates without high school diplomas, occupational and vocational training with apprenticeships, adult continuing education, parenting classes and leisure programs. Notable incidents Murder of Correction Officer Jose Rivera On June 20, 2008, as Federal Correction Officer Jose Rivera (22-year old Navy veteran) was conducting his daily count on the second floor, inmate Joseph Cabrera Sabla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moss Adams
Moss Adams LLP is one of the 15 largest ( Accounting Today Top 100 Firms 2019) public accounting firms in the United States and provides accounting, tax and consulting services to public and private middle-market enterprises in many different industries. Founded in 1913, and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Moss Adams has offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. Moss Adams has an affiliate company — Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC — which offers clients additional services such as investment banking and asset management( Moss Adams LLP Company Information). In addition, Moss Adams provides consulting services in a variety of areas including: business consulting, information technology, litigation support, mergers & acquisitions, personal wealth, research, risk management, SEC/corporate finance and valuations. Moss Adams is the largest accounting and consulting firm headquartered in the West. Its staff of over 3,800 inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office Box
A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery of mail; for example, in Kenya. Consequently, renting a PO box has traditionally been the only way to receive mail in such countries. Generally, post office boxes are rented from the post office either by individuals or by businesses on a basis ranging from monthly to annual, and the cost of rent varies depending on the box size. Central business district (CBD) PO boxes are usually more expensive than rural PO boxes. In the United States, the rental rate used to be uniform across the country. Now, however, a postal facility can be in any of seven fee groups by location; in addition, certain customers qualify for free box rental, usually because the Postal Service does not offer carrier-route delivery to their physical addresses. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bank Fraud
Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offence. While the specific elements of particular banking fraud laws vary depending on jurisdictions, the term bank fraud applies to actions that employ a scheme or artifice, as opposed to bank robbery or theft. For this reason, bank fraud is sometimes considered a white-collar crime. Types of bank fraud Accounting fraud In order to hide serious financial problems, some businesses have been known to use fraudulent bookkeeping to overstate sales and income, inflate the worth of the company's assets, or state a profit when the company is operating at a loss. These tampered records are then used to seek investment in the company's bond or security issues or to make fraudulent loan applications in a final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
