madoff posts
FeedPosted Mar 24th 2010 10:20AM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)

One of the most common arguments made in defense of the Securities and Exchange Commission's handling of the financial crisis is that the agency is understaffed, and doesn't pay its people well enough to attract talent that can compete with the private sector.
Either that, or SEC employees just need to spend more time finding the next Bernie Madoff and less time looking at naked pictures on the Internet.
Continue reading SEC Workers Love That Internet Porn
Posted 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 Sep 28th 2009 10:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals
Even with the ringleader in jail, the pursuit of Bernie Madoff doesn't seem to be finished. Sunday night, the trustee who's winding down the Madoff company said on 60 Minutes that Madoff's two sons (Mark and Andrew), brother (Peter) and niece (Shana) will be slapped with a $198 million suit. They are alleged to have known about the Ponzi scheme, according to the trustee, Irving Picard and his chief counsel, David Sheehan.
Sheehan and Picard are also working under the assumption that there is still some money hidden, quite a lot of it, in fact. Picard told the show, "We'd assume it's millions and millions of dollars." Yet, this probably wouldn't help with the task in front of them.
Continue reading Madoff family to be sued for $198 million
Posted Sep 9th 2009 3:50PM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals, Housing

Looking for a 4,000-square-foot duplex with four fireplaces and a doorman on the Upper East Side of New York? You are in luck, because the U.S. Marshals will put Bernie Madoff's "luxury penthouse"
on the market. The apartment is believed to be worth $7 million, so if you have some extra cash laying around, you could find yourself movin' on up to the Upper East Side. A list of the amenities includes ornate cabinets, stainless steel countertops, Baccarat crystal glasses, a winding staircase to the bedroom, an atrium breakfast nook, and a flat-screen TV in one of the bathrooms.
Continue reading Looking for a penthouse? Madoff's is for sale.
Posted Sep 9th 2009 10:20AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals
The Fairfield Greenwich Group has agreed to pay an $8 million settlement to a small group of investors in Massachusetts that lost money through the Madoff scam. This is expected to be a full repayment. Fairfield is also going to pay a $500,000 fine to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As part of the deal, the feeder fund does not have to admit any wrongdoing.
According to a report in USA Today, this is the first Madoff case in which a regulator secured some relief for investors. While this only addresses a relative handful of investors, the Massachusetts Secretary of State believes that it may become a precedent for other actions.
Continue reading Massachusetts and Madoff feeder fund come to agreement
Posted Aug 8th 2009 12:10PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Scandals, Headline News
Bernie Madoff's long-time go-to guy, Frank DiPascali, isn't trying to beat the system any more. He has decided to plead guilty to criminal charges spanning more than two decades.
DiPascali is the first of Madoff's employees to be charged. Aside from Madoff, the only other person greeted by the criminal justice system has been outside auditor David Friehling, who isn't going as easily as DiPascali (he's pled not guilty).
If all goes as planned, DiPascali will plead guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday at 3 PM. For now, everyone's remaining tight-lipped, and the terms have not yet been revealed.
Continue reading Madoff lieutenant gives in, to plead on Monday
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 Jul 6th 2009 1:20PM by Mitch Tuchman (RSS feed)
Filed under: Mutual Funds, Money and Finance Today, ETF Investing, Personal Finance
As you read stories about victims of the Madoff fraud, aren't you glad that you weren't one of them? Why are you so sure that it will never happen to you? How do you know its not happening to you now?
In academic financial research, there's a concept called "agency risk." Agency risk occurs when someone who is acting as your agent has a set of interests that conflict with yours. In investing, agency risk is rampant because one party can often gain from an action that will cause a loss to the investor without the investor even knowing it! Bernie Madoff was an agent of the investors who hired him to manage their money and he was crooked for years until his scheme ended. But investors face plenty of legal, yet sometimes equally dangerous forms of agency risk. It is important to understand them and find ways to mitigate these risks.
Continue reading Is there a Bernie Madoff in your portfolio?
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