Business
OneUnited bank was weakest to receive TARP support
A report on Bank Tracker, a project of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, shows that OneUnited Bank, the bank at the center of the allegations against Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was the weakest TARP bank at the time of its rescue. “When then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced creation of the so-called “Capital…
Read MoreInsurers profit on policies of fallen soldiers
An investigation by David Evans of Bloomberg found that Prudential Insurance has been profiting on life insurance policies of deceased veterans. The funds are held in “Prudential’s general corporate account, earning investment income for the insurer.” According to regulatory filings from 2008, survivors were being paid 1 percent interest on their Alliance Accounts, while Prudential…
Read MoreBoard members profit from part-time work
An accountant, a lawyer and two retired executives each collected more than $475,000 last year – and one topped $600,000 – doing part-time work for multiple Wisconsin companies, according to review of Securities and Exchange Commission data by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Cary Spivak. The men are members of corporate America’s most elite club: the…
Read MoreSchools profit off of student credit card debt
An investigation by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund found “some of the nation’s largest and most elite universities stand to gain millions of dollars from selling the names and addresses of students and alumni to credit card companies while granting the companies special access to school events.” The schools earn bonuses when the credit cards…
Read MoreFeds investigate possible billing fraud at Texas medical school, hospital
The Dallas Morning News’ Reese Dunklin and Miles Moffeit reported that a Dallas medical school and its teaching hospital are under federal investigation in possible Medicare and Medicaid fraud, billing for patient services that doctors didn’t provide. It is the second time in less than a week that allegations of billing fraud hit the two…
Read MoreBP chose riskier option to seal Deepwater Horizon well
Ian Urbina, of The New York Times, reports that a BP document provide to the paper by a Congressional investigator reveals that BP officials chose “to use a type of casing for the well that the company knew was the riskier of two options.” The selected casing only had a single seal, and if cement…
Read MoreRV park investment leaves seniors penniless
A News-Press (Fort Meyers, Fla.) investigation found hundreds of senior citizens who invested more than $7 million with a Florida RV park and campground owner. The securities were unregistered and when investors complained to authorities, they were bounced from one agency to the next without any agency taking responsibility to investigate. The owner has declared…
Read MoreCensured doctors among Pfizer’s paid experts
An investigation by Peter Aldhous and Jim Giles of NewScientist found that some of the experts used by Pfizer to lead educational forums have been “disciplined for deficiencies in patient care, while others have been reprimanded for how they conducted drug research trials.“
Read MoreHedge fund fueled housing bubble, financial crisis
An investigation by Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica reveals how “the hedge fund Magnetar helped create mortgage-based securities, pushed for risky things to go inside them and then bet against the investments, resulting in billions in losses for investors and ultimately making the financial crisis worse.” The story can also be heard on…
Read MoreSome Massachusetts companies abused job creation tax breaks
Todd Wallack of The Boston Globe reports on the misuse of the Massachusetts’ Economic Development Incentive Program which provides tax incentives to companies that invest and create jobs in the state. A review of records shows that hundreds of projects created fewer jobs than promised while others actually reduce employment while still collecting the tax…
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