Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/Reuters/Getty
Follow the money. When I served as a financial fraud prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, that was our mantra.
Whether investigating multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes or Medicare fraud or foreign corruption, following the money was a sure way to get to the bottom of something suspicious—which usually pointed to the person at the top of the scam. Following the money not only revealed who was behind the fraud, but it often helped reveal the what and why, as well.
A few weeks ago, news quietly emerged that Florida had been reallocating massive amounts of public employees’ pensions to money managers who had contributed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political campaigns. That sounds like the usual swamp-dealing, you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours arrangement that ordinary folks often describe as “corruption.”