I am pleased to be part of the Scam Factory Tour for Tribute Books...
A bit about the Scam Factory :
Whoever said 'white-collar crime doesn’t pay' never lived in Washington D.C. TierGroup is a business consultancy firm located in the heart of DC. Its Division Heads have a very cold and calculating unorthodox approach to conducting business. Protecting and serving their clients is the only thing that matters. Nevertheless, loyalty can swing both ways in this journey through greed, corruption, and absolute lack of accountability.
As a former Las Vegas Casino Surveillance Director, Michael Crayter, a straight shooter, becomes an unaware, almost, employee of TierGroup in mid-2001. His transformation takes many shapes from idea man to fraud guru. He embarks on a journey to Iraq, through Hurricane Katrina and eventually takes part in one of the biggest scams in the history of the United States - the TARP funding program. His boss, Charles “The Czar” Zarin, is the ultimate manipulation mentor. Michael Crayter’s experience will last for more than eight years and will make his old Vegas job seem like child’s play.
The investment opportunities the United States has to offer during this timeframe are seemingly endless and the public joins in on the greed. The whole country is riding high on the inflated value train with careless abandonment. There are no regulations followed or laws unbroken by the Mortgage Lenders, Stock Brokers, and Bankers. The bubble is getting bigger and the clock is ticking. It's every man for himself. Divide and conquer. Borrow and spend. No one sees the tsunami coming, except for Charles Zarin. Capitalism will be turned upside down and the money spigot will run dry.
By late 2007 the bubble bursts and our country’s economy is left in ruins. The Treasury is sent in to bail out the white-collar thieves. While losing most of its clients TierGroup and Michael Crayter are left to fend for themselves. The tables are turned on the fat-cat bankers who caused the meltdown. Michael Crayter uses his hard gained experience to get even with the fake bastards. Almost everyone loyal to TierGroup gets away with highway robbery and the American taxpayer is left holding the bag. Michael Crayter begins to tell his story, in this Four Part first-person narrative, during a 2005 interview at FBI headquarters in Washington D.C.
Please tell us about
your current release.
SCAM FACTORY is a
modern day White-Collar Crime Novel that begins in 2001 and continues into
2009. The 4-part story tells about the events that led to the U. S. Financial
Crash that started in late 2007. The
story’s main character, Michael Crayter, begins a new career, in mid-life, with
an ultra-private Washington D.C. Consulting Firm. The Consulting Firm
(TierGroup) represents seventeen of the worlds’ largest and most powerful
industries who are making tremendous financial gains with no end in sight. SCAM FACTORY is also a story that takes
its reader to Iraq, New Orleans, the Caribbean, and other major US cities. I
believe I have described the story well in the Back Cover Copy and Prologue.
Can you tell us about
the journey that led you to write your book?
The journey for writing SCAM
FACTORY started with a dream I had one night about interviewing for an
executive position at a major Consulting Firm. I landed the job in my dream,
but after I woke up, I still had no idea what they did. I thought to myself: That
was not a legitimate company, it was a Scam Factory. Then I further thought to
myself that it might make an interesting book or even a movie. The war in Iraq,
Hurricane Katrina, and the U.S. financial crash, which all occurred within the
last 12 years, were also a perfect fit for this story.
Can you tell us about
the story behind your book cover?
I designed and created the book cover with help of an
associate. The title says it all: SCAM
FACTORY. There is a silhouette of
Washington D.C. in the background on the bottom of the cover, with the
Washington Monument broadly standing out almost like a smoke stack from a
factory, and sub tittles give the reader added information about the story. The
font colors are also mean to stand out. I may add a light watermark of
hurricane Katrina in the background later.
What book on the
market does yours compare to? How is your book different?
That is a very good question. I had to do some research on
this since SCAM FACTORY is a work of
fiction. I only found one white-collar fiction book being sold today to compare
it to: “RUDIGER” by David Lender. It had some of the same types of
crimes committed in parts of my book. Several modern Nonfiction books, currently
on the market, also include many of the same types of crimes that I wrote
about. I didn’t have much luck, but it could be that I don’t know where to
look. Maybe someone out there will find other
comparable books and share them with us.
What would you say is
your most interesting writing quirk?
Over all I can say that writing SCAM FACTORY is the biggest quirk because I only type with two
fingers! I was not using the ‘Tab’ key where needed and hit the ‘Hard Return’
key too often, which made more than double the work for editing and formatting.
This is my first novel and I am almost surprised that I was able to accomplish the
challenging task of writing it.
Open your book to a
random page and tell us what’s happening.
SCAM FACTORY -PART
3- Chapter 20 –Failure Is An Option:
During a private meeting with the three largest U.S. bank
owners Michael Crayter (the CEO of TierGroup) speaks privately with Henry
Strassburger (the secret owner of 100 independent banks) against the strong
advice of his legal team. Michael knows that now is the time to take advantage
of a very lucrative opportunity, find cracks in the system, and manipulate
Strassburger. Their ‘mutual’ goal is to keep Strassburgers interest in the 100 independent
banks a secret while acquiring the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funding
from the US Treasury Department. The amount Strassburgers’ banks need is about
$125 million for each bank (or $12.5 billion total). Michael Crayter does not
trust Strassburger at all. He senses Strassburger is hiding the 100 banks loses
and making false statements about their true financial condition to the
government. What Henry Strassburger does not realize is that Michael Crayter
does not intend to help him keep the banks from taking major loses or closing…
Do you plan any
subsequent books?
I am not sure about that right now. I have two or three
other fictional book ideas in mind, but want to see how this one goes. I have
been told that SCAM FACTORY would
make a great movie, so a movie script may be in the works in the near future.
Tell us what you’re
reading at the moment and what you think of it.
I am not an avid reader, but I am always interested in new
documentaries, news, and events that help me stay connected to current events.
I watch programs on public television, cable and learning channels, and other
major media outlets. I am usually going over Business and Real Estate opportunities
being offered by others. Sometimes I am doing the actual business planning,
modeling, and research for others, which requires a ton of evaluation, writing,
and revisions.
SCAM
FACTORY started out as a dream I had about a job interview with a high-end
consulting firm. I initially thought that my dream would make a great movie,
but I decided to write a book instead. As I began to develop the plot and
storylines I realized I could tie it all in with, past and current, real life events
in the U.S. from 2001-2009. It was also relatively easy to combine some of my business
experience, and people I have run across over the years, into this story. I
grew up in Las Vegas and lived there for about thirty-five years so knowing
about Scams, or coming up with my own for this book, wasn’t so hard. The TRUE events
that led to the U.S. financial crash, mass business failures, and declines in
property values in late 2007 were nothing but ammunition for this novel.
SCAM FACTORY is
not a story about the guy in the white cowboy hat saving the town and riding
off into the sunset. It is fiction based on reality with a ‘true to life’
outcome. The characters in this story get away with White-Collar crimes just as
the real life participants did. The characters are sadistic and have a knack of
getting away with almost everything, just like the in real world. It is as
simple as that. One of the messages I wanted to convey in writing this story
was to show what kinds of professionals were out there exploiting our
businesses and citizens without legal retribution. The characters are mostly cold,
calculating, and narcissistic.
I figured that using a first person narrative was the best
way to tell the story. There are many subjects involved in this story so I
divided SCAM FACTORY into four parts
to further make it easier to read and understand. Loyalties are lost and
revenge is certainly in the plot, but figuring out how to write about it was
the key to the story. There is no mention of any existing, or real life,
companies-only industries and fictional business entities. Another challenge
was making the fictional writing seem realistic. Several of the initial book reviewers
were asking if some of the events in the story actually took place. The answer
is probably yes, except that only a hand full of people knows how those events
really took place.
The consulting firm in (TierGroup) in this story, that
represents the seventeen major industries, is politically neutral. The idea is
that if your money is green then TierGroup, and its clients, do not really care
what your political affiliation is. This is also very relevant in the real
world, but it seems to be changing for the worst. Although SCAM FACTORY contains many dark sides, it strongly reflects a
‘behind the closed door’ characterization of the reality we have faced over the
last six years. The lessons we are still learning as a country are obvious and
it may take many more years to recover. Control, perception, manipulation, and
greed are still the number one driving forces in the business world today, but
on the other hand, there are always two sides to a coin. Only time will tell.
Enjoy SCAM FACTORY
and become a fan on Facebook.
Thank you so much for being on Celticlady's Reviews and sharing your thoughts!!
About G. Gordon Dean:
G. Gordon Dean is a Real Estate agent and Business Consultant currently living in Arizona. He has been a media buff for over two decades. As a media buff he has kept himself well aware of past and current events in business, government, and politics. He lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for over 30 years. This is his first novel.
Price/Format: $4.99 ebook
Pages: 263
Release: October 15, 2012
G. Gordon Dean's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SCAM-Factory/219147311549998?fref=tsG. Gordon Dean's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6568947.G_Gordon_Dean
Scam Factory Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120621-scam-factory
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186
Scam Factory blog tour site:
http://scamfactory.blogspot.com/
You can purchase the book at the following links...
Kindle buy link ($4.99):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009RP6NU0?tag=tributebooks-20Nook buy link ($4.99):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scam-factory-g-gordon-dean/1113508194?ean=2940015503814
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