Comment by gmd63
I completely agree about the dangers and am disgusted by the story you shared and others like it.
In an ideal world nobody would commit a crime. Sadly we're far from an ideal world, and the US authorities in my experience are not well funded enough to adequately cover the ground they're responsible for. We also have a populace that voted for a felon who hates the IRS and has cronies who have floated dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so short sellers will have to do.
And the betting markets like Polymarket are worse. They had bets as to whether the fires in LA would be contained by certain dates. You can imagine the perverse incentives that creates.
no amount of funding can compensate for inappropriately aligned incentives.
the ability to spend other people's money will always be the breeding ground of corruption (which includes not doing your job while accepting the salary).