Impacts of White Collar Crime to be Revealed During Panel Discussion

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – White collar crimes destroy companies, devastate families and cost investors billions of dollars. “Ordinary people begin their journey toward committing extraordinary crimes with one seemingly minor misdemeanor after another,” according to Neil Weinberg, executive editor of Forbes magazine and co-author of the book Stolen Without a Gun. “At first, they tell themselves their actions aren’t that bad. Eventually, they discover they’re caught in a web of their own spinning.”

Weinberg will be among the panelists at the Wake Forest University Schools discussion titled “Finding the Way Back: Impacts of White Collar Crime” on Thursday, March 17, 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium located in the Benson Center on the Wake Forest campus. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Two of the panelists will offer a perspective from their experiences of committing white collar crimes.

Diann Cattani, contributing author of Taking a Harder Right, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling $500,000 while working for a consulting firm in Atlanta. Cattani, who is a Mormon and mother of three children, now travels the country sharing her story of getting caught up in the “fraud triangle” and works to steer others away from gray areas.

Justin Paperny, author of Lessons from Prison and Ethics in Motion, served just over a year in prison for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme while working as a securities broker for UBS. He explains how his values began to change as he entered his money management career and how he crossed the line from unethical to illegal behavior.

Tom Golden, retired forensic accounting partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and author of A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation will also serve on the panel moderated by Kelly Pope, assistant professor of accounting and management information systems at DePaul University and visiting professor at Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

The event is presented by the Wake Forest University Schools of Business and sponsored by the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism.