Crazy Eddie and the Art of Stock Fraud

Spotting a stock fraud is extremely difficult, but finding some smoke is significantly easier. Founded by Eddie Antar, Crazy Eddie was a chain of consumer electronic stores in the Northeast. After going public in the 1980s, the stock became nearly a ten-bagger before investigators found it to be a fraud. Investors may not have suspected that the retailer boosted profit margins by manipulating a cash skim, but there were some other signs that the soaring stock price didn’t tell the whole story. Ricky Mulvey talked with Gary Weiss, author of “Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie” about: - Why investors bought into Eddie Antar’s hype - How criminals save money on sales tax - The eventual downfall of Crazy Eddie Host: Ricky Mulvey Guest: Gary Weiss Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Dan Boyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices