Professor Elam

Thursday April 6, 2017

I doubt any of our students read the SA  Express News. But today we have a fraud story  in the paper. This illustrates that there is 'small time fraud' just as there is big time fraud ala Bernie Madoff.

Embezzling the Clients

Elpidio Gongora operarted the law office of Ronald Higgins.

Higgins exercised a complete and total lack of oversight.   Gongora stole money from lawsuit settlements intended for clients and those who helped the clients. Gongora got four years to do, Higgins received five years of probation.

In movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the outlaws are affable and good looking they just happen to choose crime as a profession.

In the real world, the criminals who are caught are well, stupid. And Gongora is a case in point.  An outlandish life style beyond one's means is usually a sure sign of fraud.  Gongora

moved to a $850,000 home in the Domion

bought a $600 K house in Aransas Pass

Acquired a Ferrari, Lambo, and Mercedes and an $85 K boat

he has been through bankruptcy twice and after failing to report the ill gotten gains, owes the IRS $2 M as well as $3.49 M restitution.

Or as Ron White says, you can't fix stupid!

To have pulled this off, he would have had to hide the money somewhere, continue living a modest lifestyle, somehow cover up the fact that the intended did not get the money coming to them, and then quietly leave town after figuring out a way to get the money out of the country. All that is a tall order.  Well now he has four years to think bout it.

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Next we have Limousine Liberal Manuel Medina (residence in the Dominion) finding the local homeless as political sign board. Manuel is running for Mayor. Aline alonzo who works with homeless ministries reports that  Medina gives a homeless man ten bucks asking him to wear a shirt promoting the Median Candidacy!

Medina responded with a rally in front of the Express News demanding that Chasnoff be fired for reporting on him.