Cezary Podkul

Reporter

Photo of Cezary Podkul

Cezary Podkul is a reporter for ProPublica who writes about finance. Previously, he worked as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters where he specialized in data-driven news stories. His work with Carrick Mollenkamp for Reuters’ Uneasy Money series was a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. He has covered energy and commodities and the private equity industry, among other beats, after leaving investment banking in 2008 to pursue journalism.

Cezary earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and is a 2011 alumnus of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, where he won the Melvin Mencher Prize for Superior Reporting. He is fluent in Polish.

Representatives Propose Ban on Insurers Charging Doctors a Fee to Be Paid Electronically

After a ProPublica investigation examined how giant insurers and their intermediaries are imposing fees on doctors and hospitals for electronic payment, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill to end the practice.

Southeast Asian Casinos Emerge as Major Enablers of Global Cybercrime

A growing number of casinos in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are engaging in large-scale money laundering, facilitating cyberfraud that is costing victims in America and abroad billions of dollars, according to new research by the United Nations.

Why Doctors Spend Millions on Fees That Could Be Spent on Providing Care

The shift to electronic medical reimbursements gave rise to payment processing companies demanding a 1.5% to 5% fee every time a doctor gets paid by insurers. The government banned such fees — until a company lobbyist got involved.

The Hidden Fee Costing Doctors Millions Every Year

A powerful lobbyist convinced a federal agency that doctors can be forced to pay fees on money that health insurers owe them. Big companies rake in profits while doctors are saddled with yet another cost in a burdensome health care system.

What Will UnitedHealth’s New Trove of Claims Data Mean for Consumers?

A federal judge allowed the company to acquire a clearinghouse of health insurance claims. UnitedHealth says it won’t use the data to give itself an edge, even as some company documents suggest otherwise.

Authorities Raid Alleged Cyberscam Compounds in Cambodia

Human traffickers who have forced workers to engage in investment scams that defrauded victims out of millions have been disrupted, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, Apple's app store has removed an app that frequently facilitated the frauds.

What’s a Pig Butchering Scam? Here’s How to Avoid Falling Victim to One.

Thousands have lost huge sums after being lured into fraudulent online investment schemes by seemingly attractive strangers who strike up online conversations with them. Here’s a guide to spotting the telltale signs.

Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming

Tens of thousands of people from across Asia have been coerced into defrauding people in America and around the world out of millions of dollars. Those who resist face beatings, food deprivation or worse.

Congressional Chair Asks Google and Apple to Help Stop Fraud Against U.S. Taxpayers on Telegram

After ProPublica investigations revealed thriving cybermarkets on Telegram where fraudsters buy and sell stolen personal information for unemployment insurance fraud, Rep. James Clyburn is hoping to enlist Apple and Google in the fight.

A Former Hacker’s Guide to Boosting Your Online Security

More stolen personal data is available online than ever before. A man who once ran a website that prosecutors called the Amazon of stolen identity information offers his tips on the best ways to protect your data.

Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected

A surge in identity theft during the pandemic underscores how easy it has become to obtain people’s private data. As hackers are all too happy to explain, many of them are cashing in on it.

How to Avoid Being Scammed by Fake Job Ads

Phony job advertisements are proliferating on the internet, often as part of identity-theft schemes. Here’s how to avoid falling victim to them.

Scammers Are Using Fake Job Ads to Steal People’s Identities

From Facebook to LinkedIn to Indeed, ads are popping up that promise well-paying jobs — if applicants provide their Social Security numbers and other details up front. Scammers then use the information to apply for unemployment benefits.

The Unemployment Insurance System Is Set to Get a Tech Makeover — but It Needs Much More, the Biden Administration Says

The Labor Department has launched an overhaul of the technology that runs the unemployment insurance system, which was overwhelmed by claims and plagued by fraud during the pandemic. But the agency says Congress must act to fix deeper problems.

How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic

Bots filing bogus applications in bulk, teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims, online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft: Inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history.

How the Federal Reserve Is Increasing Wealth Inequality

The Fed’s low-interest-rate policies have stabilized the economy and turbocharged the stock market. But those who don’t own lots of stocks haven’t benefited anywhere near as much as those who do.

Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years

The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.

Here’s How Trump Transferred Wealth to His Son While Avoiding the Usual Taxes

Donald Trump sold two condos to Eric in April 2016 at a steep discount. But he doesn’t appear to be on the hook for gift taxes.

Many ‘Rent-Stabilized’ NYC Apartments Are Not Really Stabilized. See Where They Are.

The units are supposed to be protected from steep rent hikes. But thanks to a loophole, owners can seek big rent increases anyway. Our analysis shows some of the city’s poorest areas are most at risk.

Preferential Rents in NYC

Newly released data shows ZIP codes where rents could suddenly jump for rent-stabilized apartments.

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