Chaos, Cheating, and Capital: Fraudopoly

Written By: Diya Nair

In Scott Tackas’s Business, Accounting, and Entrepreneurship class, scholars traded in calculators for counterfeit schemes in a riveting and revealing game of “Fraudopoly,” Monopoly with a twist. Designed to teach students how easy it can be to embezzle money in the real world, the game turned the classroom into a financial sinkhole.

Everyone received a playing card to determine their role, with Queens and Jokers believed to be the embezzlers—or so we thought. To keep things honest, any team that landed on GO or went to Jail faced a mandatory audit by other players. At first, the game seemed normal, with players quietly managing properties and funds. But midway through the game, the first crack appeared: Sruthi Gandhiramanathan was caught picking up a stray $100 bill from the floor.

Despite her repeated denials, suspicion stuck to her like glue. Once she was labeled a potential mole, Sruthi quickly became the class scapegoat. It didn’t take long for students to realize that solving the mystery required more than watching your own wallet. They had to track the cash flow between groups, exposing how real-world fraud often involves watching others’ accounts, not just your own. What followed was a flurry of audits, notebook cross-checking, and finger-pointing.

But the chaos only grew. Students were caught red-handed taking extra bills, and some even admitted they were “stealing for fun.” At one point, scholars Liza and Tucker pulled me into their scheme, slipping over $600 they had stolen to “keep safe and hidden.” Even Scott himself got in on the action, casually passing around money—only adding to the mayhem. 

By the end, Fraudopoly had descended into complete financial chaos. Accusations and embezzlement surged as nearly every player became a suspect. What started as a strategic game turned into a full-blown mess of deception, teamwork, and economic morality.

Scott’s innovative approach to teaching financial ethics made one thing clear: when money’s on the table, trust is the first thing to go.