This Week In Blunders – Oct. 25-31
“The fish begins to stink at the head, not the tail.” – Persian proverb
Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao walk into a blockchain.
Any surprise $6.3 billion slips out the back door?
Binance, the crypto exchange that Zhao founded in 2017, suffered the biggest crypto hack in history this week. It took all of 20 minutes thanks to the wonders of blockchain technology.
The top suspect: North Korean military hackers.
North Korea’s dictator, whose regime has long been accused of crimes against humanity, is President Donald Trumps’s pal. Yes, pal.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Trump said during an exchange with reporters in the White House just a month ago. “As long as I’m around, he’s going to be fine. You know why? Because he respects me and he likes me.”
North Korean’s Yonhap News Agency ate it up: (LEAD) Trump says N. Korea’s Kim has ‘pretty large’ nuke capacity, will be ‘fine’ as long as he’s ‘around’.
You know who else is Trump’s “friend?”
Zhao, who pleaded guilty to a felony Bank Secrecy Act violation in 2023 and servered four months in federal prison. Last year, Trump pardoned Zhao, last year calling him the victim of a Biden “witch hunt.”
Zhao, in fact, was an unusually good friend. His exchange backed a nascent crypto venture tied to Trump’s family, World Liberty Financial, helping push its valuation from millions into the billions, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Zhao had always been pretty clear about his approach to regulation. According to his own guilty plea, he told Binance employees it was “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
Binance pleaded guilty to criminal charges for Bank Secrecy Act violations in October 2023 beside its criminally convicted founder. It agreed to pay more than $4 billion in penalties.
Then in February, major news outlets reported that Iran-linked accounts allegedly continued funding terrorist groups through Binance’s network, including Yemen’s Houthi militants. Binance denies it. The Iran war rages on.
Read More: Bombing Iran With Crypto (Business Blunders)
Now $6.3 billion in crypto has disappeared in a heist so enormous that calling it a bank robbery hardly seems adequate.
Banks have regulatory requirements and are expected to follow the rule of law.
This is more like pirates pirating pirates.
And what a crew: A felon president who pardoned a felon crypto billionaire while embracing a dictator accused of crimes against humanity.
A bigger question is why anyone will continue to bank their crypto at Binance. But given the world’s inexhaustible tolerance for this kind of folly, they most assuredly will.
More troubling is why anyone thinks our national security is secure.
They’re just McRibin’ us
Don’t be fooled: Dollar General ain’t no dollar store and McRib ain’t no rib sandwich.
The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states sued Dollar General this week, alleging the discount chain routinely charged customers more at the register than the prices displayed on shelves and in ads.
“Dollar General has betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers and imposed significant financial harm on communities and consumers who are already struggling to make their paychecks last,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in a press release.
And then there’s the McRib? Who knew?
On Friday, a federal judge in Chicago ruled that McDonald’s must face a proposed class-action lawsuit over the gelatinous pork delight.
Customers argue that the rib-shaped patty and its name led them to believe it contained actual rib meat. McDonald’s says it’s a meritless lawsuit, and rest assured:
“There are no hearts, tripe or scalded stomach used in the McRib patty as falsely alleged in this lawsuit.”
Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar and the character formerly known as Evil Grimace offered no comment.
This week’s Ponzi
Edwin Brant Frost IV, the Trump-loving “Christian” financier who wrapped his Georgia investment business in religion, conservative politics and patriotism got 15 years in federal prison on Monday.
Frost pitched First Liberty Building and Loan as a conservative Christian lender helping small businesses, promising investors returns of 8% to 18%.
You know what they say. Give me liberty or give me prison.
“Like a false prophet and ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing, Frost used religion, politics, and promises of profitable returns to lure investors into giving him their hard-earned money,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. “This was a stunning, sinful, and sacrilegious abuse of trust that wrecked hundreds of investors, including retirees and seniors who lost their life savings.”
Read More: The Patriot Economy: Trump, Jesus, Liberty – Ponzi (Business Blunders)
Prosecutors said, he used new investors’ money to pay old investors while diverting millions for himself. He spent $230,000 on a vacation-home rental, more than $140,000 on jewelry, got himself a a $20,800 Patek Philippe watch, invested more than $335,000- in rare coins and made more than $570,000 in political contributions.
More than 300 investors lost over $76 million. Frost was ordered to repay $76.45 million.
Ello guv’na
He couldn’t govern New Jersey. He couldn’t govern a brokerage either.
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The Golden Age Of Grift Americans finally agree on at least one thing: Our politicians are ripping us off while an affordability crisis rages.
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Suicide Is Not Painless Executives, entrepreneurs and investors who died by suicide amid business failures, financial losses and corporate scandals. And a reminder that no business blunder is worth a life.
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If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit … Nike Can Wear It What a tech CEO didn’t know: People like to try on shoes before they buy them.
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Charlie Javice – Frank She was startup wunderkind with student loan website. She gave JPMorgan Chase a $175 million education.
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Florida Man Takes Cops For A Ride It takes a lot of balls to rip off police. Pension administrator employee Michael D. Williams settles civil fraud charges without admitting or denying the allegations.
Scamway The granddaddy of multilevel marketing gets stuck with a record $225 million settlement as regulators finally crack down on Amway.
Catch And Release Kevin Kolenda kept getting caught selling bogus prize insurance. He never stopped casting for suckers.
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LIV And Let Die LIV Golf can beg for a mulligan in bankruptcy court. But who wants to invest in a losing game?
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Flip This NBA Team Billionaire Mark Walter is scrambling to raise billions after his insurance companies reported a $20 billion investment blunder. Now he’s flipping the L.A. Lakers.