True stories of crime and punishment that will inform and educate anyone who wants to find out how to identify and avoid becoming entangled in an investment fraud.

Ponzimonium is a book chock-full of advice to educate investors on the scam artists ripping off America. The primary message is that investors should not spend on unregulated companies or individuals who trade unregulated markets—background checks are priceless. The book tells provocative stories such as that of Darren Potter, who cleverly categorized investments in his program as “loans” and ironically became a victim himself of a Ponzi scheme. There is an “Investor Bill of Rights” that pushes investors to question fund lock-up clauses and warns them to be careful of those who do not properly explain obligations and fund expenses, require additional investment capital at a future point in time, or have not appropriately disclosed all risks. Some of the red flags called out in Ponzimonium include a fund’s need for secrecy and whether there are abnormal methods of accepting investments or whether conducting independent research on the fund is difficult. This is a must-read for anyone new or old to investing and the pitfalls that could make or break your bank.

Congress created the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 1974 as an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States. The CFTC's fellow federal financial regulatory agencies include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board , and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The CFTC's mandate has been renewed and expanded several times since 1974, most recently with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. Dodd-Frank ushers in a new era for the CFTC by expanding its regulatory authority to the over-the-counter derivatives markets. Over-the-counter derivatives previously have not been regulated in the United States and were at the center of the 2008 financial crisis.

Fortunately, more than ever before, con artists are being apprehended and prosecuted. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials have reported enormous increases in tips and criminal activity since the economic calamity began in 2008. Cash redemptions are dangerous for Ponzi schemes, because when the money runs out, folks start talking. For example, at any one time, enforcement staff at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are investigating anywhere between 750 and 1,000 individuals or entities for various violations of the law. Increases in tips and fraud cases have also occurred at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in the states, and various localities around the world. The stories in this book are actual CFTC cases stemming from investigations that began with the economic downturn. These are real cases, real fraudsters, with unfortunately . . . very real victims. While, the fundamental nature of the writing in such files is, as you would imagine, very bureaucratic: this script is anything but bureaucratic. Commissioner Chilton has worked in public service for over a quarter of a century and has found that one of the most important things that can be done is to make government less puzzling and perplexing, less mysterious, and yes, less bureaucratic. While Commissioner Chilton can’t say there has been any monumental change in how folks see their government, over the years, Commissioner Chilton continues to try and do his part by communicating in a way that lets folks “in” on what is going on. This writing is an effort to continue that work. Commissioner Chilton hopes it will be a satisfying read, but more importantly, maybe some folks will avoid the tremendous tragedy that so many of our fellow citizens have endured.

Governance is a word that is increasingly heard and read in modern times, be it corporate governance, global governance, or investment governance. Investment governance, the central concern of this modest volume, refers to the effective employment of resources—people, policies, processes, and systems—by an individual or governing body (the fiduciary or agent) seeking to fulfil their fiduciary duty to a principal (or beneficiary) in addressing an underlying investment challenge. Effective investment governance is an enabler of good stewardship, and for this reason it should, in our view, be of interest to all fiduciaries, no matter the size of the pool of assets or the nature of the beneficiaries. To emphasize the importance of effective investment governance and to demonstrate its flexibility across organization type, we consider our investment governance process within three contexts: defined contribution (DC) plans, defined benefit (DB) plans, and endowments and foundations (E&Fs). Since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the financial sector’s place in the economy and its methods and ethics have (rightly, in many cases) been under scrutiny. Coupled with this theme, the task of investment governance is of increasing importance due to the sheer weight of money, the retirement savings gap, demographic trends, regulation and activism, and rising standards of behavior based on higher expectations from those fiduciaries serve. These trends are at the same time related and self-reinforcing. Having explored the why of investment governance, we dedicate the remainder of the book to the question of how to bring it to bear as an essential component of good fiduciary practice. At this point, the reader might expect investment professionals to launch into a discussion about an investment process focused on the best way to capture returns. We resist this temptation. Instead, we contend that achieving outcomes on behalf of beneficiaries is as much about managing risks as it is about capturing returns—and we mean “risks” broadly construed, not just fluctuations in asset values.

The 2013 Plan serves as a roadmap of the FAA’s ongoing transition to NextGen and provides an overview of the benefits aircraft operators and passengers are receiving from recent NextGen improvements. NextGen is the shift to smarter, satellite-based and digital technologies and new procedures to make air travel more convenient, predictable and environmentally friendly. Highlights of the Plan include the latest on metroplex initiatives, Performance Based Navigation growth, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast deployments, surface collaboration and plans for future benefits. The plan devotes an entire chapter to general aviation and recognizes the growing role of this important stakeholder.

The use of informants has been described as the "black hole of law enforcement." Failures in the training of police officers and federal agents in the recruitment and operation of informants has undermined costly long-term investigations, destroyed the careers of prosecutors and law enforcement officers, and caused death and serious injuries to innocent citizens and police. In many cases, the events leading to disaster could have been avoided had the law enforcement agency followed the time-tested procedures examined in this book. Informants, Cooperating Witnesses, and Undercover Investigations: A Practical Guide to Law, Policy, and Procedure, Second Edition covers every aspect of the informant and cooperating witness dynamic—a technique often shrouded in secrecy and widely misunderstood. Quoted routinely in countless newspaper and magazine articles, the first edition of this book was the go-to guide for practical, effective guidance on this controversial yet powerful investigative tool. Extensively updated, topics in this second edition include: Sweeping changes in the FBI and ICE informant and undercover programs New informant recruiting techniques Reverse sting operations Entrapment issues Examination of recent high-profile cases where the misuse of informants resulted in lawsuits and legislation The changing nature of compensation and cooperation agreements Forfeiture, informants, and rewards The management of controlled undercover purchases of evidence Challenges posed by fabricated information, phantom informants and police corruption Witness security measures New whistleblower reward programs Authoritative, scholarly, and based on boots-on-the-ground experience, this book is written by an author who has been a police supervisor, an informant recruiter and handler, an undercover agent, and an attorney. Supported by statutes, case law, and previously unpublished excerpts from law enforcement agency manuals, it is essential reading for every police officer, police manager, prosecutor, police academy trainer, criminal justice professor, and defense attorney. This book is part of the Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations series.