Wheel, Deal, and Steal: Deceptive Accounting, Deceitful CEOs, and Ineffective Reforms

Chapter 1. Why You Should Read This Book

On a bright late summer’s day the islands off the northeast coast sparkle like diamonds set in a blue chain. A yacht swung on its mooring directly off a dock jutting out from the water’s edge just below a newly renovated mansion. On board the yacht, so new that everything glimmered in the sunlight, maids in white uniforms hurried about their tasks, and the captain and crew were preparing to sail. The owner of the boat, the pier, and the house sat in his shorts, shirtless—his tanned chest dark in the bleached noonday light, his hands gripping the wheel of the ship; his new wife stood pert and pretty beside him, an admiring smile on her lips.

An English guest stood beside the owner; he wore slacks, a polo ...