BernardMadoff posts
FeedPosted Nov 13th 2009 6:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals
Normal tech support phone call: "Press 1 for help with e-mail. Press 2 to have your password reset."
Madoff tech support phone call: "Hello, how can I help you dummy up some trading records today?"
The investigation of Bernie Madoff's fraudulent financial empire is leading to more arrests. Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers employed by the Ponzi schemer, were arrested by the FBI on Friday morning. The charges include conspiracy for falsifying books and records. They are accused of doing the deed for the boss and accepting hush money -- in the form of 25% raises and net bonuses of $60,000 -- to keep the scam afloat.
Continue reading Two more arrests in Madoff saga
Posted Aug 12th 2009 8:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals
Frank DiPascali, CFO to convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff, turned in a guilty plea yesterday, as expected. He fessed up to ten charges, including securities fraud, conspiracy, falsifying records and international money laundering. "It was all fictitious," he said, admitting that he "knew it was wrong at the time." Yet, he didn't say a word about anyone other than Madoff.
Each of the charges carries a term of five to 20 years in prison, not to mention fines of up to $5 million. But his cooperation is expected to lessen the blow a bit, though we'll have to wait until at least May 2010 to find out what the outcome will be. We don't even know if DiPascali will be able to wait for sentencing from his own home -- nothing on bail has been determined. The prosecution has asked for a $2.5 million bond, secured by equity in DiPascali's sister's home and co-signed by "three financially responsible individuals," according to a Reuters report.
The May sentencing date suggests that prosecutors will be willing to deal, based on the information DiPascali provides in the interim. District Judge Richard Sullivan, as well, hopes that information will be forthcoming, which he expressed to one of the victims who spoke at the hearing.
Continue reading Madoff CFO pleads guilty, sentencing in May
Posted Jul 19th 2009 4:00PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Scandals
David Friehling is only the second person to face criminal charges in the Bernard Madoff debacle. He served as Madoff's auditor from 1991 to 2008, though it's hard to say if they'll resume their relationship as cellies. For now, Friehling has only been charged (innocent until proven guilty, and such) with securities fraud, abetting investment adviser fraud and filing false reports with the SEC. On five of the six charges filed, he faces a 20-year maximum.
It's alleged that Friehling didn't conduct "meaningful" audits while in Madoff's employ, despite issuing reports saying that he'd done his job -- which paid close to $15,000 a month (no work for big pay . . . where do I sign up?). In particular, he's said to have not bothered to verify Madoff's business assets, revenue sources or bank accounts. This is no-brainer stuff for an auditor.
Continue reading Madoff bean-counter pleads not guilty
Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:45PM by Jonathan Berr (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Scandals, Politics

Nicholas Cosmo, a convicted felon who somehow turned himself into an investment adviser who bilked people out of $370 million, allegedly has ties to organized crime, according
to CNBC's Charlie Gasparino.
Former Genovese family associate Michael Durso and another unidentified man met Cosmo during the 1990s and "put pressure on Cosmo to pay around $139,000 owed to loan sharks connected with the Genovese family," Gasparino reported.
Like the victims of the Madoff swindle, investors who had money with Cosmo's Agape World in Long Island are probably out of luck. Agape is in Hicksville, NY, far from the tony world of Manhattan and Palm Beach that Madoff called home for decades. He nonetheless was a bold liar.
Continue reading New York Ponzi scheme operator Cosmo had mob ties
Posted Jan 27th 2009 2:40PM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals

It was always something of a mystery how Bernie Madoff was earning the strong returns he reported to investors. One of the most common theories was that Madoff was, in his capacity as a hedge fund manager, market maker and brokerage operator, front-running the orders of brokerage clients. A piece in
Barron's had even suggested that possibility.
Bloomberg reports that
Madoff Enablers Winked at Suspected Front-Running. The notion that Madoff was making his money by frontrunning clients' orders did not seem to bother people -- as long as he wasn't ripping off them.Continue reading Madoff investors: Not so innocent after all
Posted Jan 26th 2009 2:30PM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Scandals
Bernard Madoff has claimed another high-profile victim.
A lawyer for Zsa Zsa Gabor
tells (subscription required)
The Wall Street Journal that the actress and socialite may have lost as much as $10 million investing with Madoff.
The money is believed to have been invested through a third-party money manager, and the missing funds were just noticed by her husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt. Forensic accountants have been brought in to try to figure out what happened.
The Prince is Gabor's eigth husband, but they've been together since 1986.
What will Zsa Zsa do about the
schtunk who stole her money? Reuters
reports that she isn't taking it well, but who can blame her? I propose that Madoff be tied to a chair where Gabor can
slap him silly in a pay-per-view event to raise money for his victims.
Posted Jan 21st 2009 4:00PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rants and Raves, Scandals, Rich in America, Comic Relief

Madoff should have asked for protective custody
Instead he asked for bail
The judge sent him home in bracelets
When he should have sent him to jail
Madoff admits stealing $50 billion with no remorse over 30 years
Investors and foundations lost millions and are raining tears
A thousand questions cannot be answered
How could this scandal go on so long?
Undetected by the regulators and investors around the world
Who didn't think
always winning meant something was wrong
They turned a blind eye while they were charmed by a smile
From a friendly man with a key to the city and connections that could beguile
The Securities and Exchange commission did not do its job
Incompetence in the highest office for three decades
Giving the swindler Bernie Madoff a license to rob
And pretend he was a genius trader when few were ever made
Continue reading Rapped up with Madoff
Posted Jan 12th 2009 12:45PM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Scandals
I'm always on the lookout for advice on how to live a successful, happy life: And I'm not above taking tips from Bernie Madoff,
the biggest con-artist in the history of the world if the allegations are to be believed. If you skip to 2:45 into the video, you can some great advice from him: Don't take anything for granted etc.
The man interviewed by Fox Business said that his father -- a Madoff friend and investor -- told his son on his death bed that he should "trust Bernie Madoff."
Posted Jan 6th 2009 7:00PM by Gary Sattler (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals, Columns, Mutual Funds
Welcome to Way Off Wall Street, a column dedicated to providing Main Street opinions on topics of interest to investors. Each installment highlights the views of Americans who are far removed from the canyons of Wall Street -- and who often see things more clearly as a result.After reading nearly 400 publicly posted reader comments regarding the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scandal, I believe that I may have a good feel for the grass roots mood on the subject. In a nutshell, the average American internet crawler is thoroughly disgusted with our financial system and its regulatory agencies. They are fed up, strung out and unequivocally irate. As for Bernard Madoff himself, the overwhelming assertion is that he should be strung up immediately. That sentiment is not meant in a figurative sense either. People want Bernard Madoff publicly hanged, and they want it done with much fanfare in a place such as New York City's Central Park. Yes, this sounds rather coarse. Perhaps it's even uncivilized, but as the internet is my witness, this is what people are saying.
Very few of the comments I have read indicate a feeling that Madoff's investors simply got what they deserved. I did, however, read many statements regarding the fact that high level greed obviously forced many large eggs into one very questionable basket. I myself have not much pity for those investors who lost "everything" to Madoff's twisted dealings. It is my opinion that if investors don't have the sense to diversify, and thereby somewhat protect themselves, they are not very deserving of much wealth. Even my own paltry savings reside in no less than five separate accounts, however paltry.
Continue reading Way Off Wall Street: The public responds to the Madoff scandal
Posted Jan 6th 2009 1:30PM by Jonathan Berr (RSS feed)
Filed under: Entrepreneurs, Financial Crisis
German billionaire Adolph Merckle, who has been beset by money woes, committed suicide.
According to
Bloomberg News, Merckle, listed as 94th on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest people, was hit by a train. His family released a statement saying he was "broken by his inability to handle the situation." Until recently, Merckle had a good reputation but ran into some bad luck.
"Merckle, whose holdings spanned the cement, machinery and drug industries, was battered by bets on Volkswagen AG, a drop in the value of his HeidelbergCement AG stock and increasing debt," Bloomberg News said. Shares of HeidelbergCement slumped on the news of Merckle's suicide.
Though my heart goes out to his family, the fact that the businessman chose to end his life is not surprising. The current economic crisis has placed people under unbelievable amounts of stress. Sometimes things go horribly wrong.
A French investor recently caught up in the
Bernard Madoff scandal recently took his own life. Last year,
an executive with a subprime mortgage company murdered his wife of 10 years and the mother of his two children before leaping off a bridge spanning New Jersey and Delaware.
Countless other tragedies that happen every day do not make the news. Divorces are bound to rise and I bet domestic violence is increasing. Let's hope that the government funds mental health services with the same gusto it provides money to money-losing financial institutions.
Posted Jan 5th 2009 3:45PM by Jonathan Berr (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Scandals, Financial Crisis

Dr. Stephen Greenspan is an expert on why people behave foolishly. That what makes his role as a victim of the
Madoff Ponzi scheme so informative and ironic.
In a lengthy op-ed in the
Wall Street Journal, the emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut, Greenspan argues that even highly educated people can become victims of a Ponzi scheme. The architects of these frauds tend to be personable people adept on playing on the insecurities of their clients.
Greenspan did not invest with Madoff directly. Like many victims, he gave money to one of the so-called "feeder funds" after listening to a pitch from an acquaintance of his sister and brother-in-law. He argues that Madoff's lies were not obvious or easy to recognize. Heck, the SEC couldn't figure out what Madoff was up to even though it was
given a pretty clear road map. Let's hope Congress can get to the bottom of this in hearings later today.
Continue reading How Madoff suckered an expert on gullibility
Next Page >