Expert and authors in the field of bankruptcy* and insolvency* often lay claim to writing the book on Ponzi schemes. News today is that IAAR Advisory Board Member and frequent expert speaker Kathy Bazoian Phelps, partner at Los Angeles-based Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, is perhaps the first to truly earn that distinction. Coming soon to a bookstore near you will be The Ponzi Book: A Legal Resource for Unraveling Ponzi Schemes, coauthored by Phelps and Hon. Steven W. Rhodes, judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy* Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division. The authors promise the book “is the only comprehensive guide to the complex issues that result from these fraudulent arrangements.”
From the book’s promotional materials:
“A Ponzi perpetrator may have spent years of building an intricate financial web, concealing and embezzling assets, and falsifying records. When the Ponzi scheme* is ultimately exposed, the long and difficult process of reconstruction, discovery and recovery begins.”
Phelps has unwound Ponzi schemes and other frauds to the tune of millions of dollars and is uniquely positioned to author a book on the topic. While the frequency of Ponzi schemes being uncovered is on the decline, the slew of scams uncovered to date offer untold opportunities for asset recovery* professionals. The book offers a holistic look at this process and will presumably be used as a reference for those attacking the issue. It includes chapters on fraudulent transfer claims, claims to avoid preferential transfers, tort and equitable claims against insiders and third parties, and defenses that could be employed. The final chapter of the book deals with the ever-changing realm of tax implications arising in Ponzi schemes.
At 850 pages, The Ponzi Book, published by LexisNexis, is due to hit stands perhaps as early as February, but you can preorder by visiting www.theponzibook.com and adding yourself to the notification list. Phelps will be a featured speaker next week at the IAAR 3rd Annual Conference in Las Vegas, where you can also sign up to preorder. Register here for conference if you haven’t already.
