Series shares impact of fraud

Does everything always come down to how much money will be made? Do we know what truth is? Does truth still matter?

Back in August 2019, I learned of a docuseries called “The Con” that took a profound, serious look at the 2008 market crash from the perspective of those who were there and repeatedly told the truth to purposeful deniers. These courageous folks were not only ignored but punished, and continue to suffer, for their actions. What’s going on here?

While people were losing their homes, the mainstream media story was “these folks were irresponsible, made bad choices, and it was all their fault.” If you believe that, own the choice. If the truth is what you want to hear and are willing to accept, “The Con” and “The New Untouchables: The Pecora Files” will give you all the truth you need and more. Once you have the truth, you own that as well. You can’t unring that bell.

”The Con” begins with the story of Addie Polk, a 90-year-old widow in Akron, Ohio, who shot herself as “officials” entered her home to evict her. The truth of how Addie came to this point then becomes clear.

Each episode of “The Con” reveals story after story from fearless public servants who knew right from wrong and had the guts to call it like they saw it.

With each episode of “The Con” and “The New Untouchables,” you will hear from individuals who saw the theft and deception taking place, made complaints, went to the proper authorities, were given a dismissive pat on the head, and ultimately were fired or forced to leave companies that professed to be serving the public but were light years away from doing anything of the kind.

Fraud starts with one step and continues to balloon because money talks. Want to succeed as an appraiser? Do as you are told. Inflate the value of that home. Any one of a score of institutions will bundle or pool those mortgages into a tidy package, swear everything is “legit,” and sell those packages to unsuspecting investors. Who cares what happens to the little homeowner who can’t afford the terms sold to him?

When that homeowner defaults, that mortgage will be scooped up and sold again. Get those people to sign on the dotted line. If they don’t give the information needed to make the scam happen, change the documents. Who cares? Who will find out?

All the lies and theft, and it was real theft, led up to the crisis of 2008, a crisis from which many will never recover. The sad and disgusting part is far too many of the same players are still in power, still making money and no one is paying the price except those who lost their home or lost their pension or invested in what was sold to them as a “sure winner.”

As much as I would like everyone to hear from the courageous men and women in “The Con” and “The New Untouchables,” I know many won’t. Everyone is free to choose. Yet, my hope is if you do watch these videos, you’ll see and hear with your own senses what fraud looks like when it’s all dressed up and spewing promises too good to be true. The impact on the lives of real people, millions of them, can be felt.

The theft and deception didn’t surprise me. I’ve seen it far too often “in the flesh” since I was young. What’s amazing to me is the evidence, the hard, cold facts presented by the creators of “The Con” and “The New Untouchables.”

If we are a nation of laws, why aren’t those perpetrating crimes dealt with? There is overwhelming documentation existing to back up every interview in these series. Will the “powers that be” serve the public and hold the thieves accountable, or will the revolving door from Wall Street to Washington and back to Wall Street continue? All of us have a choice to make.

To view “The Con,” all videos and podcasts of “The New Untouchables” and additional information about those involved in creating these series visit https://realprogressives.org/new-untouchables.

The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.

Rose Ann Miele is a journalist and was public information officer for Boulder City for nine years. She is the national outreach director for Real Progressives. She can be reached at roseannrab@hotmail.com or at 702-339-9082.