Albert J. Meyer was a forensic accountant and investor who is credited with uncovering fraud at the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy,[1] one of the largest ponzi schemes in U.S. history, as well as notable accounting irregularities at several large public companies.[2] Meyer died on February 3, 2022, from lung cancer.[3]
Career
editMeyer started his career as a forensic accountant and spent 15 years as an accounting professor, including five years at Spring Arbor University. After leaving academia, Meyer worked as an analyst at Martin Capital Management and at Dallas-based investment manager, David W. Tice & Assoc., Inc.[4] In 2006, he founded Bastiat Capital, a money manager based in Plano, Texas.[5]
Discoveries
editMeyer investigated New Era while working as an accounting professor at Spring Arbor University in the mid-1990s. The college was an investor in the foundation.[6] Subsequently, Meyer detected accounting irregularities at Tyco International in 1999,[4] which ultimately led to the conviction and imprisonment of CEO Dennis Kozlowski. He also brought to light accounting issues at Coca-Cola[7] and Enron.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Accountant blows lid off New Era". Archived from the original on 2018-11-18.
- ^ Stecklow, Steve (September 28, 1996). "A Big Charity Faces Questions About Its Financing From SEC". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "A memorial to Albert Meyer". 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b Maremont, Mark (October 15, 1999). "Tyco Sleuth Has Long History Of Uncovering Bad Numbers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b Morgenson, Gretchen (April 9, 2011). "Enriching a Few at the Expense of Many". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Carton, Barbara (May 21, 1995). "Accountant Found New Era's Problems". The Morning Call. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Peterson, Melody (August 4, 1998). "THE MARKETS: Market Place -- Putting Extra Fizz Into Profits; Critics Say Coca-Cola Dumps Debt on Spinoff". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
Further reading
edit- Michelmore, Peter (March 1996). "On the Trail of a Scam". Reader's Digest. pp. 110–115.
- "One man, two crusades". Accountancy. Vol. 117. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. April 1996. p. 20. ISSN 0001-4664.
- Michelmore, Peter (September 27, 1998). "Maybe Pepsi Has a Job For a Dogged Coke Critic". The New York Times.
- Petersen, Melody (May 26, 2003). "When A Skeptic Says, 'Buy!'". Fortune.