BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Two more arrests in Madoff saga]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/13/two-more-arrests-in-madoff-saga/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/13/two-more-arrests-in-madoff-saga/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/11/13/two-more-arrests-in-madoff-saga/#commentsFiled under:

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

Two more arrests in Madoff saga originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arrestarrestedarrestsBernardMadoffbernie madoffBernieMadoffcriminalfbiFederal Bureau of InvestigationFederalBureauOfInvestigationfraudInformation TechnologyInformationTechnologylitigationmadoffmadoff securitiesMadoffPonziSchemeMadoffScandalMadoffSecuritiesprogrammerprogrammersprosecutionprosecutionsSECSecurities and Exchange CommissionSecuritiesAndExchangeCommissiontechnologyFri, 13 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Madoff fights to win, gets some cred]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/13/madoff-fights-to-win-gets-some-cred/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/13/madoff-fights-to-win-gets-some-cred/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/10/13/madoff-fights-to-win-gets-some-cred/#commentsFiled under: ,

Allen Stanford gets kicked around, but Bernie Madoff can clearly throw down some serious smack. While the former's being moved from one facility to another because he's lost some ground on the cell block, Madoff just earned himself some props.

The engineer of the largest (known) Ponzi scheme in history apparently got into an argument with another geriatric inmate at the Butner, North Carolina federal prison. Of course, it was over the stock market. Does it really make sense to outmaneuver a guy who never needed to know what the market was doing to deliver double-digit returns?

Well, push came to shove, as they say, with the "attacker" stumbling and looking up at a mean, mean Madoff. He got up and ran off.

Continue reading Madoff fights to win, gets some cred

Madoff fights to win, gets some cred originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disgraced Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff's (former) Montauk, Long Island home is no longer on the market. A buyer willing to pay more than the $8.75 million asking price has picked up the property, only two weeks after the U.S. Marshals Service listed it for sale.

Anne Lacombe, spokeswoman for the Corcoran Group, a real estate broker involved in the transaction, said the home was under contract for more than asking but did not have information on the exact amount, buyer or closing date, according to the Associated Press.

Continue reading Madoff mansion moves for more than asking price

Madoff mansion moves for more than asking price originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beach houseBeachHousebernard madoffBernardMadoffbernie madoffBernieMadofffeaturedfloridalong islandLongIslandmadoffmadoffponzischememadoffscandalmanhattanmanhattan real estateManhattanRealEstatemontauknew yorkNewYorkpalm beachPalmBeachponziponzi schemePonziSchemereal estateRealEstatesothebys international realtySothebysInternationalRealtyThu, 17 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Massachusetts not backing down on Madoff feeder fund]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/massachusetts-not-backing-down-on-madoff-feeder-fund/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/massachusetts-not-backing-down-on-madoff-feeder-fund/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/massachusetts-not-backing-down-on-madoff-feeder-fund/#commentsFiled under:

Fairfield Greenwich Group is trying to play ball, but Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin isn't listening.

Instead, he's sending out notices to find all the investors who lost money with Fairfield as a result of its investments in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The state does not intend to settle, though negotiations between the state and Fairfield are ongoing.

Continue reading Massachusetts not backing down on Madoff feeder fund

Massachusetts not backing down on Madoff feeder fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beacon hillbernard madoffbernie madoffbostonboston massachusettsinthenewsmadoffmadoff securitiesmadoffscandalmassachusettssecretary of statewilliam galvinWilliamGalvinSun, 16 Aug 2009 15:10:00 EST<![CDATA[Madoff bean-counter pleads not guilty]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/19/madoff-bean-counter-pleads-not-guilty/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/19/madoff-bean-counter-pleads-not-guilty/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/19/madoff-bean-counter-pleads-not-guilty/#commentsFiled under: ,

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

Madoff bean-counter pleads not guilty originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accountantaccountingauditorbernard madoffBernardMadoffbernie madoffBernieMadofffeaturedfraudmadoffmadoff scandalmadoff securitiesmadoffponzischemeMadoffScandalMadoffSecuritiesscandalsecsecurities and exchange commissionsecurities fraudSecuritiesAndExchangeCommissionSecuritiesFraudSun, 19 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Bernard Madoff may have never even actually traded any securities]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/16/bernard-madoff-may-have-never-traded/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/16/bernard-madoff-may-have-never-traded/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/16/bernard-madoff-may-have-never-traded/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Money manager Bernard Madoff had a trading strategy that was so awesomely complex that no one understood it. Well, it turns out that was a lie too.

Media reports say that the alleged mastermind of a $50 billion Ponzii scheme may have never traded any securities at all. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has no evidence of Madoff's investment fund executing trades through his brokerage operation, the Associated Press said. Fidelity Investments, listed among many trades included in statements sent to customers, says Madoff is not a client, the AP said.

There are many lessons to be learned from the Madoff scandal.

First, don't invest in something you do not understand.

Many Madoff customers were either afraid or unwilling to ask what was going on with their accounts. The Boston Globe, which broke this story, said the firm's "statements were often so complicated that investors had to call representatives of the firm for explanations."

People can understand if a money manager loses money by making some bad bets on the market. They may not like it much but they know that investments will lose their value. But Madoff never even tried to make money for his clients. He was only interested in lining his own pockets.

How Madoff could sleep nights knowing that he had swindled everyone from billionaires to charities to small union pension funds is beyond me.

Bernard Madoff may have never even actually traded any securities originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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

How Madoff suckered an expert on gullibility originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MassMutual became the latest big investor to admit losing money because of Bernard Madoff.

According to Wall Street Journal, the company's Tremont Financial Group lost $3 billion -- more than half of its assets -- because of Madoff's $50 billion scam. Then there's the problem of disclosure.

"Tremont marketing documents did not always disclose the relationship between Mr. Madoff and the feeder funds, even when mentioning other investment managers," the paper said.

So let me get this straight: MassMutual entrusted some of its investors' money to one of the supposed geniuses of Wall Street and did not want anyone to know? Maybe the company did not want its customers to know that it was collecting fees that it did not really earn. I suspect many aggrieved investors will sue. I sympathize with their plight, ,but I do not feel sorry for people who invested with Madoff directly.

Many Madoff customers turned a blind eye to many red flags that should have sent them running for the hills. First of all, no one understood the Madoff's "investing philosophy." Questions about his strategy went unanswered.

Continue reading Wall Street continues to reel from the Madoff scandal

Wall Street continues to reel from the Madoff scandal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the story unfolds, winning investors find that even though they took their funds out, they may have to repay some of their gains. That's because of something called "clawbacks." A court could rule that anyone who gained money from Madoff's Ponzi scheme must repay some of the gains even if the person had no idea the gains were fraudulent.

When it comes to a Ponzi scheme, unknowing early investors make their profits because the money from later investors is used to pay those profits. In the New York Times story this morning, the Times reviews the records of one investor who made millions with Madoff, even though he still had several million dollars in his account when the fund collapsed last week. The Times did not reveal his name because he is afraid he could be sought out to repay some of his gains.

Based on previous court rulings involving other frauds, winners have reason to worry. In past scandals they have had to give up some of their gains to even up the losses. Losers are likely to receive just 20 to 40 percent of their original investment. Clawbacks will help in an attempt to repay some of the losses.

Clawbacks could impact investors who received gains over the last six years, but how far back the courts will decide to go will be determined in the future when all the facts are known. Some believe investors could also sue other investors who drew them into this fraud. Whatever happens Madoff-related lawsuits will probably fill the courts for years.

Right now the Times reports only $20 billion of the possible $50 billion in losses have been identified, but more losers are expected to come forward. The $50 billion estimate is the number suggested by Madoff when he confessed to the fraud.

Lita Epstein has written more than 25 books including "Reading Financial Reports for Dummies."

Madoff winners may have to pay back gains originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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