Forensic CFO Re-examines U.S. Founders as Authors of Crime
David Tolly's new book, "Founding Crimes," analyzes the actions of America's Founding Fathers through the lens of financial forensics, treating historical events as a case file.
Windsor, Conn. – Amidst a wave of books commemorating America's semiquincentennial, Founding Crimes: How Smuggling, Fraud, and Treason Built the United States offers a distinct perspective. Authored by David Tolly, a turnaround CFO with extensive experience in forensic financial consulting, the book examines the nation's founding as if reviewing a suspect set of financial records.
Tolly applies his professional methodology – following money, paper, and motive – to reconstruct acts he characterizes as crimes under the laws of their time. The book details events such as the seizure of John Hancock's smuggling sloop Liberty, the Declaration of Independence as an act of treason, and the Yazoo land fraud.
Structured with twenty-seven "Exhibits" and ten "Witnesses" drawn from historical documents, the work invites readers to act as the jury. Tolly analyzes the Constitution itself through this forensic lens, questioning the financial and legal integrity of the nation's underpinnings.
"The founding of this country is full of numbers that lie and words that deceive," Tolly stated. He argues that despite the questionable acts, the evidence suggests a fractious generation that nonetheless forged a nation with enduring ideals. Tolly concludes that the historical record does not justify despair about the present.
Published in time for the July 4, 2026, semiquincentennial, Founding Crimes is the first in a planned series that aims to re-examine American history through case files. The book is available on Amazon.com.