The events resulted in the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, kickstarting the 2008 financial crisis, is examined in Inside Lehman Brothers. Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest financial institutions in United States. However, a series of shady and possibly fraudulent business dealings resulted in the company eventually declaring bankruptcy, resulting in a financial collapse. A number of former Lehman Brothers employees recall their time with the company and how the executive tries to silence those who spoke up about the fraudulent activity.
A decade after the 2008 financial crisis, filmmaker Jennifer Deschamps revisits the events that resulted in one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States to go under. Inside Lehman Brothers speaks to many former employees, including Vice President of Finance turned whisle blower Matthew Lee and the trio of Linda Weekes, Cheryl McNeil, and Sylvia Vega-Sutfin, who all worked for the Lehman Brothers subsidiary BNC Mortgage in San Francisco. Together they recall a story of fraudulent loans, intimidation tactics, and corporate cover-up.
The narrative around the 2008 financial crisis is quite well known at this point, as the executives of financial organizations got away with millions of dollars, while people’s homes were foreclosed. Inside Lehman Brothers looks at the events leading up to the crisis from the employee’s perspective and how Lehman Brothers attempted to cover-up proof of fraudulent activity. I could say that Inside Lehman Brothers is a cautionary tale, however it’s probably safe to say that the financial world hasn’t learned from its mistakes.