Ripple effects of fraud

We often focus on a fraud’s perpetrator, the conditions that allowed the fraud, plus the victim business and its owners. In this case, the authors cover the bases but also discuss the forgotten aspect: how the fraud affects so many more who live in the concentric circles around the fraudster.

James Brighton was running a successful trucking business in Monroe, Louisiana, when he was approached by Bob and Larry Hymel, two brothers who owned Zoom Transport, a much larger but similar operation in Lafayette. (All names and places have been changed.) The brothers offered James a job as company president. Promised perks included a low six-figure salary and a company car. And if Brighton met two years of revenue and growth goals, the company would reward him with 5 percent of stock each year with a cap of 25 percent. When Zoom hired Brighton it owned 90 trucks, and had $12.5 million in revenue and 100 shares of outstanding stock.