Pirate Cove: An Insider’s Account of the Infamous Southport Lane Scandal by Richard D. Bailey
In Pirate Cove, Richard D. Bailey provides an insider’s chronicle of a white-collar crime whose headline-grabbing elements first appeared on the front pages of The Wall Street Journal. It’s the true, unvarnished, complete, previously untold, and fascinating story of how one honest man helped unravel the massive Southport Lane fraud perpetrated by the author’s former employer, 26-year-old, self-proclaimed financial prodigy Alexander Chatfield Burns.
A really smart friend of the author once asked Burns how he got control of four state-regulated insurance companies. With a Cheshire cat grin, Burns cryptically responded, “Jesus with a telescope on Mars couldn’t figure out how I did this.” But the author eventually did.
If (and when) Pirate Cove is made into a movie, it’ll stand right alongside such successful dramedies as American Hustle, Can You Ever Forgive Me, Bad Education, White Collar Crime, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Michael Clayton.
Richard D. Bailey is the author of Pirate Cove, released by Bancroft Press in November 2023.
For over 30 years, he has been providing interim and long-term management, and corporate development services to distressed public and private manufacturing, service, and distribution companies.
In 2013, Bailey was hired by Southport Lane Management (“Southport”), a New York-based private equity firm. Shortly after he was hired, he noticed unusual cash transfers by and between multiple Southport-owned and -controlled LLC’s.
Upon further investigation, Mr. Bailey uncovered critical evidence of what would turn out to be a $350 million fraud. He then worked closely with FBI investigators for several years. This resulted in four indictments and four guilty pleas. Three of the perpetrators served prison time. In late October 2021, Alexander Chatfield Burns, the leader of the fraud, committed suicide prior to being sentenced. As a result, with millions unaccounted for, in the eyes of the law he died an innocent man.
His book, Pirate Cove is the true story of a fake Caravaggio, a bogus Yale degree, a 26 year old self-proclaimed genius, and the unraveling of a $350 million fraud.
He holds a BA from Providence College and an MA from Fairfield University.
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