My Name is Thomas Gober and I am a forensic accountant and certified fraud examiner.   So my question to all Americans is this:

Lehman Brothers – bankrupt, Merrill Lynch bought for pennies on the dollar, and A.I.G.  going from a trillion dollars of assets to being bailed out to the tune of 85 billion:  How did we get here, and where, exactly, is here?

Just yesterday, I felt compelled to produce three brief videos in an effort to educate the public about some of the very complex and little known facts that led to this turbulent and painful economic time.

Introduction to Thomas D. Gober, MBA, CFE

This particularly painful economic crisis is unique.  Usually such times require no explanation… a war, a terrorist attack, a plague … for they are clear.  But the multiple causes that led to this meltdown are insidious; combinations of factors that have been eroding our economic security for decades.  I am sure that the public knows that it has been betrayed and lied to by corporations and administrations.  But the public does not understand how deep this betrayal runs.

My career as a forensic accountant -- over 20 years of experience in the investigation of corporate fraud within the insurance industry -- has taken me down a path of enlightenment.  The shock that we are all feeling today, especially over the devastating AIG bailout debacle, I began feeling more than 20 years ago.  Despite my many attempts to convince governmental regulators that our insurance regulatory effort was woefully inadequate, I got nowhere.

I know that I tend to learn a great deal more in times of pain.  So I hope that in these times, my experience can help to quickly educate the public and governmental regulators that change is desperately needed.  These three videos are brief, less than 10 minutes each, but I hope they get the point across.  The domain that I secured to educate the public through these videos is Big Insurance Fraud.

In the first video (9:56) I give a general description of insurance company accounting fraud.

In the second video (9:01) I explain how the insurance companies cleverly "cook the books" and hide it from regulators. 

 In the final video (7:09) I cover what happens to the policyholders and my concerns with the mistreatment of policyholders.

About the author:

Thomas Gober created these videos to educate the public.  His forensic accounting website used for his clients may be found at www.tgfas.com.  He writes:  “If, upon your review of these videos, you believe they may help others, please help to get the word out and link these videos to any site where they may be of value.”

Photo Credits: U.S. Treasury Building, © TH 2008