The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "exchange" ...
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Did State Fund Overpay in Redding Land Deal?
State Compensation Insurance Fund board member Kent Dagg was pushed for State Fund to build a new regional headquarters in his city of Redding, California. SCIF overpaid for the property by almost 50 percent, and the contract was given to a former officer of the Shasta County Builders Exchange, which was run by Kent Dagg.
Tags: Highway 44: Shasta View Drive; Ken Miller; Lewis-Pripgras; Workers' Comp Executive; Frank Del Re;
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The Mark Foley Investigation
Almost a year after the media received the first emails Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) sent to underage Congressional pages, ABCNews.com's investigative team went online with the story. Using the interactive function of their website, former pages forwarded to ABC more email exchanges they’d had with Foley, some of which were sexually explicit. After the first posting, Foley staffers claimed the pages "misunderstood", and that political opponents were smearing Foley. When the more explicit emails were read back to Foley, he tried to bargain with the investigative team: he would resign if the site didn't post the emails. ABC said no deal, and Foley resigned the next day. The issue morphed into "who knew" and why Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert had done nothing before to stop Foley's behavior. The story sparked an investigation by the FBI's Cyber Division, and criminal charges were filed against Foley in Florida. This series includes interviews with Brian Ross on breaking the story, and other media stories about the ABCNews.com coverage.
Tags: Capitol Hill Page; Congressional Pages; Page Alumni Association; House Ethics Committee; sexually explicit messages to minors; Congressman Mark Foley; email messages; AOL Instant Messenger; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; FBI investigation; FBI's Cyber Division; House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children; Department of Justice; pedophile; Wired Safety
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Web of Deceit
Through the experiences of a couple which arranged an adoption with a pregnant woman they met online, Dateline NBC examines how such an arrangement can easily be a scam. These situations are "unevenly regulated and potentially risky for all involved." In this case, the couple was "given false promises of a baby to adopt in exchange for hundreds of dollars that they believed were paying for the pregnant woman's rent and food." But through public records, it was found that the woman was using a false name, "and careful surveillance showed she was lying about many other critical aspects of her life." Also, "Dateline was able to determine that the same woman had also duped at least five other families." The woman was eventually charged with a felony.
Tags: adoption; Internet scams; misrepresentation; false pregnancy
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Insurance Investigation
The Star examined the insurance industry, using consumer complaints totaling more than 10,000 pages, interviewed hundreds of sources and gathered records for all 50 states. After sifting through information regarding the best and worst companies for consumer complaints both nationwide and in Kansas and Missouri, the Star discovered that Allstate Insurance of Northbrook, Illinois "had the most complaints for claims handing in the country," and "Farmer's Insurance Exchange of Los Angeles led all insurers for complaints over using credit histories to set premiums - a practice consumer advocates call discriminatory." In Kansas, American Investors Life Insurance Co. Inc. of Topeka had the worst complaint record of any annuity provider in the state. The study also found widespread fraud, and also that the insurance industry receives more complaints than banks and stock brokerages. Adding to the problems are the people who have scammed billions of dollars out of insurance companies, which raises premiums across the board.
Tags: insurance; fraud; American Investors Life Insurance Co. Inc.; Allstate Insurance of Northbrook, Illinois; Farmer's Insurance Exchange of Los Angeles
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The Tragedy of General Motors
A look into the General Motors company and its poor financial standing. GM is facing the possibility of bankruptcy, though it is a driving force in the American economy.
Tags: banks; bankruptcy; finance; cars; automobile; stock; exchange; SEC; GM
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Shattered Dreams of Early Release
The investigation uncovered a con- promising early paroles or releases for family members and loved ones serving time in Texas prisons in exchange for money-- between ex-con Robert Andrew Coats and Dallas attorney Jeff Fletcher. The promises were never fulfilled after the money was paid. After its exposure, the con was labelled the "largest illegal parole fraud scheme ever uncovered in Texas."
Tags: prisons; parole; fraud; cons; Texas; early release; early parole; Parole and Probation Services
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Archdiocese Hires Criminal
The personnel director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati knowingly hired a criminal to run a new program designed to protect children. His job was to conduct the fingerprint and background checks now required of all volunteers who coach or help out in Catholic schools. The investigation uncovered the personnel director was a close personal friend of the criminal for more than 20 years and that the troubled young man claimed the personnel director had sexually abused him as a child. He claimed he continued his sexual relationship with the personnel director in exchange for jobs, money and clothes. The criminal had access to the social security numbers of thousands of Catholic volunteers. It was shown how he continued to commit crimes while employed by the Archdiocese, and how the personnel director continued to cover for him, even bailing him out of jail.
Tags: archdiocese; Cincinnati; criminal; social security; sexual abuse; crime; volunteer; hiring; back ground checks
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The Entrepreneurial Dealings of Physicians
The reporter investigated entrepreneurial dealings of physicians and its consequences for patients and the health care system.
Tags: physicians; health care; financial ties; FDA; medical inventions; entrepreneurial doctors; Securities and Exchange Commission
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Spalliero's Empire
Developer Anthony Spalliero was charged and indicted by a federal grand jury in 2005 for bribing the former mayor and others in exchange for building and zoning approvals. Although the Asbury Park Press reported on Spalliero's close involvement with local officials since 2003, after his arrest the Press unearthed thousands of pages of documents detailing lawsuits, regulatory records, land transactions and other information detailing Spalliero's empire. Among other findings, the four-day series revealed that Spalliero maintained two families at once, videotaped a pornographic movie of a girlfriend having sex with another man, violated building laws and broke agreements with business partners.
Tags: corruption; building violations; New Jersey; Florida; Marlboro
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Financing Terror
Freedman delves into the world of "hawala," an informal and often untraceable method of transferring money from the U.S. and throughout the Middle East. The U.S. government contends that in addition to operating as a way to transfer legal funds from one family member to another, the hawala system has also been used to launder money from illegal trafficking in humans and drugs and to get money to terrorists. As of the publication date of this article, federal law enforcement agencies have not succeeded in prosecuting any high profile cases, nor any cases involving terrorist groups.
Tags: international terrorism; money laundering; terror networks; international money transfers