Orville Enoch Hodge was the Auditor of Public Accounts (predecessor to the office of Comptroller) of the state of Illinois from 1952 to 1956. During his term of office, he embezzled $6.15 million of state funds, mainly by altering and forging cheques that were paid on the state's account. This book details how the embezzlement scheme was cracked by the Chicago Daily News, whose reporting team was awarded a 1957 Pulitzer Prize for their investigation.

A Lady Seeking Scandal Lady Isabel Cameron has little use for marriage and propriety. Her dream is to study art in Paris. But her father has engaged her to a waddling, bankrupt, domineering lord twice her age. When her childhood flame Marcus Hawksley reappears--handsome, single, and socially snubbed--Isabel devises the perfect escape. She will solicit Marcus's assistance to destroy her reputation. A Man With Nothing To Lose Marcus has already felt the wrath of the ton, with his business as a stockbroker deemed unacceptable. But he is no despoiler of innocent ladies--until by chance, Isabel's improper advance leaves her the only witness against a lie that could truly ruin him. Faced with her father's demands for marriage, Isabel and Marcus agree to a wedding of convenience--and six months' tenure living as supposed husband and wife. But as the heat between them grows, what seemed a pretense becomes deliciously real. . . Praise for Lady of Scandal "A tantalizing tale. . .with sizzle and characters that engage readers' emotions." –Romantic Times

FORBES TOP 10 HIGHER EDUCATION BOOKS OF 2020 The riveting true story behind the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, a cautionary tale of parenting gone wrong, the system that enabled families to veer so far off course, and the mastermind who made it all happen. When federal prosecutors dropped the bombshell of Operation Varsity Blues, it broke open the crimes of exclusive universities and wealthy families all over the country, shattering the myth of American meritocracy. In Unacceptable, veteran Wall Street Journal reporters Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz dig deep into how otherwise smart, loving parents became caught up in scandal, led through the side door by one man: college whisperer Rick Singer. Unacceptable traces how, over decades, the charismatic Singer easily reeled in parents hoping to guarantee top educations for their children, and exploited a system rigged against regular people. Exploring the status obsession that seduced entitled parents in search of an edge, Korn and Levitz unfurl a scheme that entangled more than fifty conspirators, from wealthy CEOs to famous actresses, leading to imprisonments, ruined careers, and terminated enrollments. An eye-opening account of corruption in America’s most exclusive institutions, Unacceptable tells the story of helicopter parenting, coddled teens, and the man who thought he couldn’t be caught. Detailing Singer’s steady rise and dramatic fall, Korn and Levitz expose the ugly underbelly of elite college admissions, and the devastating consequences of buying success.