Big Think Meet the 3 kinds of people who are stealing your money | Kelly Richmond Pope
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Aug 8, 2025 
Kelly Richmond Pope, an accounting professor at T'Pau University and author of 'Fool Me Once,' dives into the world of fraud, revealing it as a $5 trillion industry. She discusses the intriguing 'fraud triangle,' which includes opportunity, rationalization, and pressure in fraudulent behaviors. Pope identifies three types of fraudsters: intentional perpetrators like Bernie Madoff, righteous fraudsters with good intentions, and accidental fraudsters, underscoring that the latter can often be just as dangerous.
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Fraud Happens In A Village
- Fraud happens inside communities and touches every industry and country.
- Kelly Richmond-Pope calls it a multi‑trillion dollar problem that rarely occurs in isolation.
The Fraud Triangle Explains Motives
- The fraud triangle links opportunity, rationalization, and pressure as causes of fraud.
- Kelly Richmond-Pope emphasizes rationalization as especially revealing for prevention.
Perpetrators Come In Three Types
- Not all perpetrators are greedy or immoral; they differ in motive and method.
- Kelly Richmond-Pope categorizes them as intentional, accidental, and righteous to clarify prevention.
