Catching Cheats: Everyday Forensics to Unmask Business Fraud

by Erik Lie

Overview

A renowned researcher takes readers inside the hunt for Wall Street's biggest frauds, revealing the forensic techniques that catch corporate criminals in the act.

The world of business runs on trust, but that trust is routinely broken. From stock market manipulation to accounting fraud, corporate executives and Wall Street insiders find endless, creative ways to cheat the system. With engaging stories and compelling data analysis, Erik Lie reveals how these schemes work and how to catch them.

Through real cases such as Martha Stewart’s insider trading, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and the LIBOR rate-fixing scandal, readers will learn the following:

• Two powerful methods for detecting systematic fraud using data
• How cheaters leave behind telltale statistical patterns
• Why some of Wall Street's biggest frauds persisted for years despite red flags
• The role of whistleblowers, journalists, and researchers in exposing deception

Packed with intriguing examples and whimsical illustrations, this eye-opening guide shows how anyone can help expose corporate misconduct hiding in plain sight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798890571397
Publisher:	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date:	10/07/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Erik Lie is a professor of finance at the University of Iowa and has been teaching for twenty-five years. In 2002, he began researching executive compensation, and using large databases, he documented strong patterns of manipulation of stock option grants. He brought them to the attention of the SEC and Wall Street Journal, which resulted in a massive SEC investigation, numerous lawsuits, congressional hearings, the firings of at least seventy corporate executives, and a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the Wall Street Journal. In 2007, Time magazine included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Editorial Reviews

Lie masterfully navigates the twists and turns of the most explosive frauds in recent history while also offering a compelling guide to readers as to how to uncover those next to come themselves.”
—Lauren Cohen, LE Simmons Professor, Harvard Business School

“This book is both a fun read and a cautionary tale about the importance of skepticism and curiosity in the financial world.”
—David Yermack, Albert Fingerhut Professor of Finance and Business Transformation, NYU

“Lie’s book turns the thrill of forensic sleuthing into a fun and captivating read—a must-read for anyone wanting to outsmart financial fraudsters!”
—Colleen Honigsberg, Bernard Bergreen Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law, Stanford University

“Fasten your seatbelt as Lie takes you on a wild ride through stories of financial fraud—this is real-world CSI, grounded in academic rigor but told in a breezy and compelling manner.”
—Jonathan Karpoff, Washington Mutual Endowed Chair in Innovation and Professor of Finance, University of Washington

“This book shows how data and tools of forensic economics and finance can be used to catch the cheats—an eye-opening look at the darker corners of Wall Street and elsewhere.”
—John Griffin, James A. Elkins Centennial Chair in Finance, University of Texas

From the Publisher