Chronicles the rise and fall of the family that fleeced more than 12,000 invectors, 10,000 business creditors, and 245 financial institutions nationwide out of a billion dollars.
"Weisman, an attorney currently specializing in corporate investigations, bankruptcy, and employment discrimination, was General Counsel to the Bennett Companies from 1984 to its demise in 1996. He traces how a small office-equipment leasing company located in Syracuse, NY, became a conglomerate of resorts, hotels, and gambling casinos without adequate finances. By using new investors' money to pay off earlier investors as well as unethical and illegal business practices, they were able to stay afloat for many years. Finally, in 1996, after investors lost their money, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut them down, forcing bankruptcy and filing charges against the Bennett family. Weisman's meticulously detailed but readable narrative includes the finances, personalities involved (including his own), and methods used to defraud many investors. A fine case study for business and law collections."—Library Journal
6 x 9, 392 pages, 10 black and white illustrations
December 1999
