In a way, fraud in business is no different from infidelity in marriage or plagiarism in scholarly work. Even people committed to high moral standards succumb.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that.
The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat oneself.
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government.
For the most part fraud in the end secures for its companions repentance and shame.
Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.
All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.
Cheating is not the American way. It is small, while we are large. It is cheap, while we are richly endowed. It is destructive, while we are creative. It is doomed to fail, while our gifts and responsibilities call us to achieve. It sabotages trust and weakens the bonds of spirit and humanity, without which we perish.
There are some frauds so well conducted that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them.
Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.