Paper Empire | The Case of Equity Funding Corporation of America

Oh My Fraud

Join Caleb and Greg on a twisting saga of an insurance company that began in the late 1950s, rose to spectacular heights in the 1960s, and came crashing down in the 1970s.

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• (00:00) - With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies
• (01:34) - Life Insurance Policies
• (05:20) - Case Introduction: Equity Funding Corporation
• (06:55) - The Rise of Equity Funding
• (15:35) - Innovative Financial Products
• (24:57) - Expansion and Acquisitions
• (27:13) - Tragedy Strikes
• (36:18) - The Beginning of Fraudulent Activities
• (38:27) - Insurance Company Schemes Unveiled
• (45:14) - The Maple Drive Gang and Auditor Deception
• (46:30) - The Downfall Begins
• (48:01) - Raymond Dirks and the Unraveling of Equity Funding
• (55:34) - The SEC Steps In and Trading Suspended
• (58:57) - Legal Consequences and Sentencing
• (01:05:51) - Reflections and Lessons Learned
• (01:12:19) - Final Thoughts and Fun Facts

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Greg Kyte, CPA
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Caleb Newquist
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Sources:

• INSURANCE FRAUD CHARGED BY S.E.C. TO EQUITY FUNDING [NYT]
• Associates Find Goldblum Is Not Too Easy to Know [NYT]
• 22 INDICTED BY U.S. IN EQUITY SCANDAL [NYT]
• GOLDBLUM ENTERS EQUITY GUILT PLEA [NYT]
• Dirks, Who Uncovered Fraud At Equity, Is ‘Gratified’ by Plea [NYT]
• Goldblum Among 6 Sentenced To Jail in Equity Funding Case [NYT]
• 12 More Ex‐Officials of Equity Funding Sentenced [NYT]
• $57 Million Tentative Settlement Drafted in Equity Funding Fraud [NYT]
• Flory, Steven M. and Cooper, Kerry (1976) "Equity Funding: The Profession Reacts," Woman C.P.A.: Vol. 38: Iss. 3, Article 4.
• Contemporary Auditing Issues and Cases, by Michael C. Knapp. Case 5.6 Equity Funding Corporation of America
• Soble, Ronald L. and Dallos, Robert E. (1975) “The Impossible Dream.”
• Flory, Steven M. and Cooper, Kerry (1976) "Equity Funding: The Profession Reacts," Woman C.P.A.: Vol. 38: Iss. 3, Article 4.
• Seidler, Lee J., Andrews, Frederick, Epstein, Marc J. (1977) “The Equity Funding Papers: The Anatomy of a Fraud.”
• Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646 (1983) [Justia]

Raymond Dirks, Whose Tipster Case Redefined Insider Trading, Dies at 89 [NYT]