Way back in August we told you about the unimaginable: accounting fraud on the stage. For those of you worried that the British production of Enron wouldn’t make it to the States, we have BIG NEWS for you. Enron begins previews on April 8th and opens on April 27th at the Broadhurst Theatre and we’re sure it will sweep the Tonys come awards time. That is, if KPMG doesn’t screw up the count.
For you theatre junkies, you’ll be happy to know that Norbert Leo Butz has been cast in the role of Jeff Skilling. NLB is best known for his roles in Wicked, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Is He Dead? The rest of the cast has not yet been determined but we’re still pulling for Hugh Jackman in the role of David Duncan.
The preview for the British version appears below and — GASP — mark to market is mentioned. So for those of you that aren’t so culturally inclined, maybe this will been enough to pique your interest. See you at the show.
But what we’d really like to see him have a conversation with Barry Minkow about how that Barry thinks the Congressman’s report on Goldline International is unmitigated bullshit:
Friend of GC, Tracy Coenen participated in the Minkow’s investigation and she presents the findings over at Fraud Files Blog. Here’s a sample:
• Allegation: Weiner criticizes Goldline because of complaints on the website Ripoff Report lodged by consumers who say Goldline representatives improperly hold themselves out as investment advisors.
• What Weiner didn’t tell you: Ripoff Report says (in response to the consumer complaints) that you can feel completely confident doing business with Goldline. Weiner gave us only half of the story in his report.
Allegation: Goldline grossly overcharges for its products
What Weiner didn’t tell you: Our sampling of coins listed in the Weiner report showed that Goldline’s prices were very comparable to those of six competitors. He also forgot to mention that companies are free to set whatever prices they like for their products.
Allegation: Goldline says they’ll buy back your gold and silver, but doesn’t “guarantee” that
What Weiner didn’t tell you: It is against the law for Goldline to offer a buyback guarantee. If they offered such a guarantee, they would be in violation of securities laws because their salespeople are not licensed broker dealers.
Regardless of how you feel about Glenn Beck, gold coins, or Anthony Weiner’s Fox News-esque ability for interrupting, it kinda sorta sounds like the Congressman’s investigators don’t know a non-fraud when they see one. Besides, we’ll take the word of a convicted-felon-turned-fraud-buster over any report that comes out of Congress. Especially in an election year.
A message left with Congressman Weiner’s spokesperson was not immediately returned.
