That's not really true at all. There are entire divisions at investment banking firms called "delta-one" desks. They exist solely for the purpose of creating sy

That's not really true at all. There are entire divisions at investment banking firms called "delta-one" desks. They exist solely for the purpose of creating synthetic equity positions to avoid regulatory, tax, capital, settlement rules on cash equities. I can easily sell you a "total return swap" in lieu of shares, which bypasses all kinds of existing rules. Fraud and money laundering are very narrowly defined, and require mens rea. If simply structuring alternative financial vehicles constituted fraud, then nearly all of Wall Street would be in jail.