The rebuilding of a life after jail time for fraud

Article

Lam, Joseph, James, Kieran and Leung, Jenny Kwai-Sim. 2012. "The rebuilding of a life after jail time for fraud." Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal. 6 (2), pp. 91-112.
Article Title

The rebuilding of a life after jail time for fraud

ERA Journal ID40372
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsLam, Joseph (Author), James, Kieran (Author) and Leung, Jenny Kwai-Sim (Author)
Journal TitleAustralasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal
Journal Citation6 (2), pp. 91-112
Number of Pages22
Year2012
PublisherUniversity of Wollongong
Place of PublicationWollongong, Australia
ISSN1834-2000
1834-2019
Web Address (URL)http://ro.uow.edu.au/aabfj/vol6/iss2/7
Abstract

After a brief introduction from the second-mentioned author, which sets the scene for the story as Cabramatta and environs in Sydney’s outer south-western suburbs, the first-mentioned author takes over and gives readers his life story beginning with his family fleeing the Communists in South Vietnam, moving on to his days in his twenties running his own accounting firm in western Sydney to tax frauds, court case, and jail time. He moves on to explain how he began a conscious strategy to re-create his life existentially by studying MBA in prison. The first-mentioned author concludes with an important personal message, borne out of his own personal life experiences, to readers of the journal followed by some reflection from the second-mentioned author. This article will be of interest to accounting students, accounting educators, and any young (or not so young) accounting professionals under temptation to commit fraud to make a quick dollar. Sartrean existentialism and Marxist-Stalinist ethics inform the analysis of the case by the second-mentioned author. The role of gambling addiction in the story is topical given Singapore’s recent decision to open two new casinos, the first to open in the city-state since its 1965 independence.

Keywordsaccounting education, business ethics, existentialism, gambling addiction, Sydney, tax fraud, Vietnamese- Australians, Vietnamese diaspora
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020350108. Taxation accounting
430302. Australian history
440201. Causes and prevention of crime
350102. Auditing and accountability
440202. Correctional theory, offender treatment and rehabilitation
430301. Asian history
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsNo affiliation
School of Accounting, Economics and Finance
Charles Sturt University
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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