The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "cons" ...
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Con-Men: Grant Chasers Plague Katrina Aid
This series investigates the malfeasance and graft inside Louisiana's $750 million home elevation grant program, a federally financed effort to help Katrina victims rebuild safer homes.
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Kansas City Adoption Scam
The CBS News investigation uncovered an adoption con artist who scammed more than 40 families out of tens of thousands of dollars and made extra efforts to emotionally scar her victims.
Tags: adoption; scam; con artist;
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The Unexpected Guest; Friends with Benefits
First and only full account of the crimes of violent River Oaks con-man Dinesh Shaw a.k.a Dinny Shaw.
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21st Century Snake Oil
The story exposed medical con men who prey on the terminally ill by selling stem cell treatments not proven to be safe or effective.
Tags: stem cell; stem cell research; health; ALS; medicine
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Scam-At-Home
A number of online scams are offering work at home opportunities to consumers. In this economic recession, many people are looking for ways to make money and these scams seem to be the perfect way. Some of the major scams are mystery shopping, stuffing envelopes, and rebate processing. The investigation into this story discovered these scams among the many and along the way found the scammers who were running these operations.
Tags: Internet; employment; finances; con job; credit; wealth; debt; website; Better Business Bureau; Federal Trade Commission
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The Cloning Scam
"It is estimated that 37 thousand stolen vehicles are cloned every year in Brazil." To do so, they must use fake documents to pass car inspections, which allow them to receive counterfeit plates. To reveal all this activity, the reporter had to befriend these people and act as one of the gangs involved in the cloning scam. Also, the reporter learned how these criminal acts work and what it takes to pull this all off.
Tags: car cloning; Paraguay; gangs; drugs; criminal commerce; police; con; rip-off; inspections; cars
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Flipping Fraud
In one of the largest white collar crimes, "$10 billion in suspicious property flips helped turn the real estate boom into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." This series became the most comprehensive investigation and it also uncovered certain tactics used by these men to appear legitimate. Furthermore, this investigation didn't have the help of police reports and court cases, just the truth.
Tags: real estate; white collar crime; mortgage fraud; flipping schemes; crash; nation's economy; con men
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Food Safety
Recently the food industry has been searching for cheaper ingredients, but this increases the risk to consumers' safety. In this series, they look at foods from peanuts to hamburgers. Furthermore, the federal agencies who examine the food industry have flaws, which weaken their attempts to improve food safety.
Tags: Food; Food industry; Safety; Food safety; Risk; Consumers; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Inspectors; ConAgra Foods; E. coli
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Financial Fraud
Wall Street Journal reporter, Mark Maremont exposes a California investment banker turned con man who was charged with money laundering. A deeper look into the life of Danny Pang reveals questions about the validity of his credentials and of the mysterious death of his first wife. Mr. Pang denied any wrongdoings until his death was found dead in September 2009.
Tags: Danny Pang; Private Equity Management Group Inc.; Ponzi scheme; Janie Louise Pang;
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The Man Who Conned The Pentagon
Dennis Montgomery, a self-proclaimed scientist, believed he could decrypt secret communication between Al Qaeda. He had been doing this for years and convincing the US national security establishments of this information. His bizarre intelligence caused plane cancellations, orange alerts, and chaos throughout America. Further, this story reveals specific contracts and a number of events caused by certain people.
Tags: War on Terror; Dennis Montgomery; Al Qaeda; Terrorists attacks; US Intelligence agencies; US Government; Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)