Ponzi scheme

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Tough Economy Bares a Slew of 'Mini-Madoffs'

Investors increasingly are becoming wary

(Newser) - Cash-strapped investors looking for redemption from investment funds are turning up surprises in the form of “mini-Madoffs,” Ponzi schemes that—while dwarfed by the alleged $50 billion fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff—nevertheless have taken victims for millions, reports the New York Times. At least six frauds with...

Spanish Bank Offers $1.82B to Madoff Victims

The make-good may prompt other banks to offer compensation to fleeced clients

(Newser) - Spanish banking giant Banco Santander, whose clients lost nearly $3.1 billion in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, has offered to pay back customers some $1.82 billion, reports Bloomberg. The bank is facing a lawsuit in US federal court, filed by investors who say it failed to exercise due...

Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf
 Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf 
Jan 27, 2009 11:37 AM CST

Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s golf buddies knew something was up. No, not the whole global Ponzi scheme thing, which many would lose fortunes in. But something did seem fishy about his golf handicap. Madoff played off a 14 or 15, says one participant from a May tournament, but it should have...

New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted
 New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted 
Jan 27, 2009 6:09 AM CST

New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted

Cops accuse New York financier of scamming investors out of millions

(Newser) - New York police have busted a financier accused of running a Ponzi scheme, Reuters reports. Nick Cosmo—sentenced to 21 months on swindling charges in 1999—may have bilked investors of up to $380 million through his firm Agape World, which claimed to make high-interest bridge loans, according to authorities....

Zsa Zsa Lost Millions to Madoff

Madoff not so 'darling' to actress, 91, who's out up tp $10M

(Newser) - Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has lost as much as $10 million to accused Ponzi scheme swindler Bernard Madoff, Reuters reports. The actress, 91, is not taking the recently discovered losses well, according to her lawyer. The Hungarian-born cinematic darling of the 1950s and '60s— who chalked up a string of...

Downturn Threatens 100K Charities

(Newser) - The economic crisis isn’t just hurting Wall Street executives—it also spells dark times for the charities they once supported, the Wall Street Journal reports. The number of US nonprofits climbed from about 750,000 a decade ago to more than a million today, but watchers say 100,000...

SEC Charges 'Mini-Madoff' With Fraud

Fugitive fund manager remains on the run as cops follow trail to La.

(Newser) - A Florida hedge fund manager who's been on the run for more than a week will find federal fraud charges waiting for him if and when he resurfaces, Reuters reports. Arthur Nadel transferred more than $1 million of clients' money into secret accounts before disappearing, the SEC alleges in a...

Florida 'Mini-Madoff' Missing With $350M

Police searching for fund manager after clients complain of missing millions

(Newser) - A Florida hedge fund manager is missing along with hundreds of millions of dollars of his clients' money, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Art Nadel, 75, was reported missing Wednesday after his wife found a suicide note. Stunned investors have been told that Nadel's funds, thought to have totaled $350 million,...

Schapiro Pledges to 'Reinvigorate' SEC

Obama nominee wants better cooperation among agencies in nabbing next Madoff

(Newser) - Mary Schapiro, Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, told senators today she would make enforcement a top priority, CNN reports. Her confirmation hearing was also peppered with questions about how Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme slipped past regulators; Schapiro currently heads an industry watchdog group....

Ruth Madoff: Accomplice or Another Victim?

Both possibilities hard to believe, friends say of inseparable couple

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, have been married for nearly 50 years and are practically inseparable. They worked together, and the outgoing blonde with the all-American look attracted friends to his hedge fund, the New York Times reports. So did she know or didn't she? "It’s hard...

NY Investigates Madoff Chum in Charity Losses

Nonprofits say Merkin invested millions without their knowledge

(Newser) - New York investigators widened their inquiry into Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme yesterday, as claims emerged that a middleman may have defrauded charities of millions of dollars. Money manager Ezra Merkin allegedly invested the money of 15 nonprofits in Madoff funds without their knowledge, reports the New York Daily News. New...

Another Judge Sends Madoff Home

Feds' appeal to put financial scammer behind bars rejected

(Newser) - A second judge rejected a bid to revoke Bernard Madoff's bail during a hearing today in which the accused scam artist wore a bulletproof vest, Bloomberg reports, sending him home to his Manhattan penthouse rather than into custody. Prosecutors argued Madoff can’t be trusted, citing attempts to mail  jewelry...

The Upside of the Madoff Mishegoss
The Upside of the Madoff Mishegoss
OPINION
Jan 13, 2009 11:42 AM CST

The Upside of the Madoff Mishegoss

Thank Bernie for reminding us that Jews shouldn't be WASPs

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff, the professionally dishonest, gelt-grubbing financier, seems to conform to some of the worst stereotypes about Jews and money, writes Joseph Epstein in Newsweek. While Madoff appears to have made a particular specialty of swindling fellow Jews, he is actually less anti-Semite than "truly equal-opportunity son of a...

Madoff Delays Could Point to Plea Bargain

Wording in court order suggests negotiations in $50B fraud case

(Newser) - Signs emerged yesterday that disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is trying to cut a deal that could end his $50 billion fraud case without trial, the New York Times reports. A federal magistrate refused to revoke Madoff’s bail and delayed a hearing on Madoff’s case for 30 days so...

Madoff Stays Free on Bail
 Madoff Stays Free on Bail 
Jan 12, 2009 11:37 AM CST

Madoff Stays Free on Bail

Judge doesn't revoke bail

(Newser) - A New York judge ruled today that Bernard Madoff may remain free on bail, rejecting a bid by prosecutors to send the disgraced investor to jail. Madoff mailed more than $1 million in jewelry and heirlooms to family and friends over the holidays. Prosecutors said the gifts were grounds to...

Madoff Finally Apologizes—to His Neighbors

Ponzi schemer says sorry for 'terrible inconvenience'

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff hasn't had anything to say to the public since the revelation of his $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But to the few dozen residents of his luxury apartment building on New York's Upper East Side, the disgraced financier, who earlier resigned as president of the co-op board, recently sent...

Madoff Brother Eyed for Not Reporting Scam

Fraudster may have confessed to brother before he told his sons

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff's brother learned that the Madoff fund was a huge scam the evening before the fraudster confessed to his sons, but he failed to inform authorities, insiders tell the New York Times. Peter Madoff, who worked closely with his older brother for decades, has not been charged with any...

Untangling Madoff Case Baffles Feds

Investigators struggle with mounds of documents

(Newser) - Federal investigators are struggling to piece together Bernie Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme almost a month after his arrest for securities fraud, Bloomberg reports. The FBI, SEC, and Manhattan US attorney are amassing piles of data, including transaction records and investors’ monthly statements, to determine who else may have been...

Madoff Had $173M in Checks for Friends, Relatives: Feds

Fraudster also transferred $160M to British firm as possible exit strategy

(Newser) - Investigators searching Bernard Madoff’s office found 100 signed checks worth $173 million, which the fraudster apparently sought to give to relatives, friends and key employees of his investment operation, the Wall Street Journal reports. This latest insight into the alleged Ponzi scheme emerged as federal prosecutors try to revoke...

Madoff Whistleblower Shrinks From Spotlight

Tenacious accountant stands to make book, film money, but just wants to move on

(Newser) - Harry Markopolos, the accountant who began warning the feds years ago about Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, wasn’t looking for the limelight, the Boston Globe reports. Not only is he testifying before Congress—he’s also been deluged by book and movie offers. His is “a remarkably compelling...

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