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 "rip off" ...
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A Bad Cop and His Wife
The investigation uncovered how a Los Angeles detective and his wife ripped off people from coast to coast. The detective would use his influence as a police officer to help his wife's furniture and design business. She would take customers money but not deliver the goods.
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The Cloning Scam
"It is estimated that 37 thousand stolen vehicles are cloned every year in Brazil." To do so, they must use fake documents to pass car inspections, which allow them to receive counterfeit plates. To reveal all this activity, the reporter had to befriend these people and act as one of the gangs involved in the cloning scam. Also, the reporter learned how these criminal acts work and what it takes to pull this all off.
Tags: car cloning; Paraguay; gangs; drugs; criminal commerce; police; con; rip-off; inspections; cars
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Home Sick
Reporters at the Florida Trend magazine examine a 30-year-old contract law which protects subcontractors from getting stuck with the bills of bankrupt contractors. The state law, called the Construction Lein Law, puts any building costs not paid by the general contractor into the hands of the homeowners, regardless of if they have already paid the contractor. This law has caused a number of problems among consumers because of lax state regulation of homebuilders, and the ability to easily rip off consumers.
Tags: Construction Lien Law; subcontractors; homebuilding contractors
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Tricks of the Trade
This hidden camera investigation looks at the automobile industry as a whole, and finds that more than 52,246 customers in dealerships across 39 states have been ripped off. Dateline talked to Duane Overholt, who was a finance manager at Sonic Automotive, a major corporation that owns 187 dealerships across the country. With Overholt's help, Dateline was able to find an overwhelming amount of fraud and deception within the industry. Dateline also bought a car for the investigation and reported on the whole process, including fraud they encountered along the way.
Tags: Car salesmen; Finance
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N.J. does little about car repair crooks
The Record reports that "New Jersey drivers have little protection from auto-repair rip-offs," and that the state's office of consumer protection -- despite an announced shake-up -- remains "lackluster and ineffective."
Tags: fraud; complaints; better business; consumer protection
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Home Improvement
An NBC Dateline hidden-camera investigation finds that consumers of home repair services get ripped off 50 percent of the time. Whether servicemen will choose a particular customer as a rip-off victim depends mostly on behavior, and not much on gender, the broadcast reveals.
Tags: price; quality; Better Business Bureau; undercover investigations; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Trust Betrayed
The Herald-Tribune reports on abuse and rip-offs in group homes for disabled. The series follows the coverage an accident in which a fire killed two developmentally disabled men. The investigation finds that state inspectors have "ignored repeated complaints" that the residents have been mistreated, sexually assaulted and deprived of their money and belongings. The stories shed light on how Vicky and Bob Swan, a family with history of fraud and bad debts, have received more than $1 million from the state to operate group homes. The Swans hired "felons, misfits and drug addicts to care for men and women who needed help eating, bathing and getting dressed," the newspaper reports. The follow-up stores examine the poor decision-making by state regulators and the devastating impact of state budget cuts on proposed fixes for the system.
Tags: group homes; Florida Department of Children and Families; mental retardation; Down syndrome; autism; mental health; fire
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Cocaine, cash and the captain
WKMG-TV investigates the connection of Captain Victor Thomas, a high-ranking sheriff's official, to a drug murder and rip-off. The story describes the circumstances at which Thomas was arrested trying to smuggle 18 kilos of cocaine. The reporters find that "instead of quickly putting the case of one bad cop behind it, the sheriff's office and FBI continued to pursue leads down the same trail WKMG was trolling, at times crossing investigative paths, but ultimately winding up with a scandal that claimed six careers, put two cops in jail and revealed the seamier side of a law enforcement star out of control."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; sexual assault; Republicans; politics; corruption; CAR
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Wake up and smell the coffee: Starbucks says a company manager stole millions by simply forging a signature
Anderson revealed how a newly hired Starbucks' manager, Rosemary Heinen, "was on her way to ripping off a mind-boggling $450,000 a month from the coffee giant". Rosemary submitted phony outside consulting service invoices, approved invoices herself, and picked up payment checks in person. Unknown to Starbucks, Heinen's family had a history of money troubles, the Seattle Weekly reports. The coffee giant now attempts to recover its losses, and is reviewing the breakdowns in its internal financial controls.
Tags: court records; collection of property; obsessive- compulsive disorder; forgery
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R.I.P. OFF
Modern Maturity reports on the deceptive practices that are used by some in the funeral industry. Some funeral directors are using high-pressure sales tactics, price gouging, charging for unnecessary services, allowing the customers few options, failing to show price lists as is required by federal law. FTC supervision hasn't been adequate, Modern Maturity reports. Included are tips on how consumers can protect themselves.
Tags: funeral homes; AARP; decptive marketing; funeral industry; Federal Trade Commission; National Funeral Director's Association; Federal Consumers Alliance