My Book is Out!!!!

Dark Money & Private Spies

I release never before seen intelligence in my new book.

Dark Money and Private Spies.

What makes a person choose justice over self-interest?

I came to the swift, raging river, And the roar held the echo of fear; “Oh Lord, give me wings to fly over, If You are, as You promised, quite near.” But He said, “Trust the grace I am giving, All-pervasive, sufficient for you. Take my hand, we will face this together; But My plan is – not over, but through.” -Webber

"What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate the beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; This is to have succeeded." -Emerson

When Everett Stern landed his dream job as HSBC Bank’s new Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer, he never imagined the career move would lead to international notoriety as a whistleblower.

During his time at HSBC, Stern discovered that the bank deliberately failed to maintain anti-money laundering policies, allowing for billions of dollars of drug proceeds and terrorist funding to be laundered through the U.S. financial system. Stern knew he could not stand by and allow this to continue. In 2011, he alerted the U.S. authorities of his findings. The ensuing investigation resulted in HSBC being issued with an unprecedented $1.9 billion dollar fine.

But the pursuit of justice came at a high personal cost to Stern. His banking career was over, and the experience left him disillusioned.

In Dark Money and Private Spies, Stern finally shares the full account of his experience with the corruption, espionage, and injustice that plague today’s financial and legal systems. He details both the precursors to his defining moment and the explosive aftermath, which saw him blacklisted from the financial industry. From his current position as a Senate candidate and Intelligence Director of a private intelligence agency, Tactical Rabbit, Stern offers unique insight into this booming sector. Part true crime thriller and part condemnation of America's failed systems, it’s a sobering tale of one whistleblower’s fight for justice.

Forward

by Fmr CIA Field Operations Officer Bob Dougherty

I am honored to write a foreword to this book about my friend and colleague Everett Stern. At its core, this is a true-life story about how one man challenged an international corporate banking giant that was wittingly facilitating the movement of terrorist money around the globe. It is about how this “David” took on the “Goliath” and while ultimately successful in terms of illuminating illegal practices at the international bank, the “David”, in the form of Everett Stern, paid a deep price in his personal and professional life. Everett then picked up the pieces of his life, worked hard, and formed and successfully developed a private security and intelligence company – one that he currently runs today.

On one level, this is the ultimate American success story – a man who builds up his life, takes a principled stand on an important issue, gets knocked down, and then gets back up again and rebuilds his life to even greater levels of success. On a separate level, this is a story of how one person can make a significant difference on an important issue that is facing our country. We have a saying in our line of work that “many are called, few are chosen”. Everett Stern heard the call and not only answered it, he did so in a singular and impressive fashion. While the U.S. intelligence community was focused on the issue of how international and domestic terrorist groups were moving their money around to fund their terrorist operations after 9/11, we did not fully comprehend the level of witting complicity that many U.S. and international banks and some of their selected officials had in this terrorist money laundering effort. Everett Stern was one of a rare handful of individuals who not only noticed that some of these big banks were wittingly moving funds from designated terrorist individuals and groups, he took forceful and aggressive action to stop this illicit behavior with the ultimate objective of trying to save innocent lives and make our country a safer place. When the bank he was working at (HSBC) refused to change their practices after being alerted to them by Everett, he made the conscious decision to discreetly provide this information to pertinent U.S. authorities. In the end, HSBC was fined a record 1.9 billion dollars, however, no officials were held accountable – another intriguing aspect of this story demonstrating the apparent “coziness” between elements of the United States Government and major banking and financial institutions.

I have a deep admiration and respect for Everett Stern and the critical role he played in helping illuminate terrorist money laundering at a major international bank. Not many people on this planet would have the courage, fortitude, intelligence and strong sense of morals and ethics that it took for Everett to do what he did. Everett has remained true to his core beliefs and sense of justice, integrity and doing what is right at his position as founder and CEO of Tactical Rabbit – his private security and intelligence company. Everett and Tactical Rabbit take on clients who have been wronged in some way and who need the capabilities and advocacy of Everett and his company to right an injustice and to do what is proper, moral and just.

I only wish that this country had more men like Everett Stern who were willing to use their unique skillset to right what is wrong and to take principled, moral and just stands on the myriad of threats and issues that face us here in the Homeland. I am humbled to call Everett both a personal friend and professional colleague in this ongoing struggle against all forms of injustice and extremism. Please enjoy this true-life story of an unsung American hero.