Bankrupt Banker

Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., was sued again for investing with financier Bernard

Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., was sued again for investing with financier Bernard Madoff, who allegedly confessed to a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Group Defined Pension Plan & Trust, a Jersey City, New Jersey-based investor, sued Tremont and its auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, over claims they missed warnings about the alleged scheme. The complaint, filed today in Manhattan federal court, seeks class-action, or group, status. <blockquote>Tremont already faces a lawsuit filed Dec. 22 on behalf of investors who may have lost $3.1 billion, according to the complaint. Funds including Walter Noel’s Fairfield Greenwich Group, which invested $7.5 billion, and Ezra Merkin’s Gabriel Capital LP and Ascot Partners LP, were also sued for investing in Madoff’s firm following his arrest Dec. 11. </blockquote> “You are looking at the tip of an iceberg here,” the pension plan’s lawyer, Fred Longer, said today in an interview. “Entities like Tremont really show the kings here have no clothes. They blindly go into these investments and they’re not disclosing the fact that the investments aren’t well investigated.”

Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., was sued again for investing with financier Bernard

Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., was sued again for investing with financie...

Unique Gems International Pension Fund of America and Focus Financial Associates are just a few of the local companies that ripped off millions from i

Unique Gems International Pension Fund of America and Focus Financial Associates are just a few of the local companies that ripped off millions from investors.This ''is one of the more egregious affinity frauds we have seen in South Florida,'' Verges said. ``He's banking on that familiarity with that community to steal from them.'' The SEC obtained a court order halting business at Creative Capital and another firm, A Creative Capital Concepts, which the agency claims collected more than $23 million, primarily from Haitian-American investors. Many live in South Florida and were told they could double their investment in three months through stock and options trading.A federal judge signed an order freezing Theodule's and the companies' assets. A receiver has been appointed to oversee the companies. Attempts to reach Theodule and his attorney were unsuccessful.On a Haitian radio station, Theodule, 48, denied he had stolen investors' money.''If I ran off with the money, I would be somewhere in Africa with four women fanning me down right now,'' he said on WPBR 1340-AM.He said the economy was the reason why some investors had not received their money. But he insisted the investments were working.The SEC, though, says Theodule lost at least $18 million over the past year. It also alleges Theodule, who now lives in Georgia, commingled investors' funds with his personal money and took at least $3.8 million for himself and his family.

Unique Gems International Pension Fund of America and Focus Financial Associates are just a few of the local companies that ripped off millions from i

Unique Gems International Pension Fund of America and Focus Financial Associates are just a few of the local companies that ripped off milli...

Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, had investments with Bernie Madoff

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SVtKLkxWIKI/AAAAAAAAFNY/zfrePp7u5s0/s1600-h/kevin.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285900150359072930" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SVtKLkxWIKI/AAAAAAAAFNY/zfrePp7u5s0/s400/kevin.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a> Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, had investments with Bernie Madoff, Bacon's publicist says. Bacon, the prolific actor, and his wife, fellow screen star Kyra Sedgwick, had investments with Madoff, the financial guru accused of swindling his clients out of $50 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme, Bacon's publicist told CNN Tuesday.Publicist Allen Eichhorn did not say how much the couple lost, declining to address reports that the figure was in the millions."Let's not speculate," he said. Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and a charity run by director Steven Speilberg mark some of the other Hollywood heavyweights allegedly bilked by Madoff, who remains in his Manhattan home on house arrest after posting $10 million bail. Bacon, whose credits include "Mystic River," "Footloose" and the recent political biopic "Frost/Nixon," has appeared in 64 movies or television programs since 1978, according to the Internet

Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, had investments with Bernie Madoff

Kevin Bacon and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, had investments with Bernie Madoff, Bacon's publicist says. Bacon, the prolific actor, and his ...

Pavel Vrublevsky

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Anurag Dikshit

In December 2008, Anurag Dikshit, a billionaire Indian businessman, the richest man in Gibraltar and the 207th richest man in the world, a co-founder of PartyGaming, parent company of the world's leading online poker site PartyPoker.com, pled guilty to illegal Internet gambling and agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department in an investigation of Party Gaming. Dikshit entered the plea to one count of online gambling in violation of the Federal Wire Act and agreed to forfeit $300 million. "I came to believe it was in fact illegal under U.S. law," Dikshit told U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York, referring to PartyGaming’s activity. "I have taken full responsibility for my actions." Well, Bikshit is probably the only one criminal who admitted his guilt at once while being ready to pay off the required fine unlike other cyber crime committers we mentioned above. And unlike e-gold or e-bullion executives Dikshit didn’t try to defend himself against the charges and imposed fines with the help of high qualified attorneys.

Anurag Dikshit

In December 2008, Anurag Dikshit, a billionaire Indian businessman, the richest man in Gibraltar and the 207th richest man in the world, a c...

Henry T. Nicholas III

Henry T. Nicholas III On June 5, 2008, Broadcom co-founder and former CEO Henry Nicholas III was indicted on charges of illegal stock-option backdating and of violations of federal narcotics laws. On July 14, 2006, Broadcom announced it had to subtract $750,000,000 from earnings due to stock options irregularities. On September 8, 2006 the amount was doubled to $1.5 billion. The company may also owe additional taxes. On January 24, 2007, it announced a restatement of its financial results from 1998 to 2003 that totaled $2.24 billion. On May 15, 2008, Samueli, Broadcom CTO, resigned as chairman of the board and took of a leave of absence as Chief Technology Officer after being named in a civil complaint by the SEC. Mr. Nicholas and William Ruehle, the former chief financial officer of Broadcom, were charged of improperly backdating stock options, forcing Broadcom to take a $2.2 billion write-down. Besides, Henry Nicholas III also maintained several residences that were used to distribute and sell drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, and threatened to kill people if they talked about his activities. In one incident described in the indictment, Mr. Nicholas and his guests are said to have inhaled so much marijuana on a flight to Las Vegas from Orange County, Calif., that clouds of smoke and fumes drifted into the cockpit of the private plane and the pilot was required to put on an oxygen mask. Mr. Nicholas was also accused of hiring prostitutes not only for himself but also for customers and associates of Broadcom, and to have supplied them with drugs. And, according to the indictment, Mr. Nicholas “used threats of violence and death and payments of money to attempt to conceal his unlawful conduct.” Mr. Nicholas used several residences in Orange County and Las Vegas, as well as a commercial office space called the “warehouse,” to distribute and use drugs, according to the unsealed indictments. Various code words, including “supplies,” “party favors” and “refreshments,” were used to describe the various drugs, the indictment said. But ecstasy is described as a particular favorite. According to the indictment, Mr. Nicholas gave some to an executive without his knowledge in July 1999 at the Woodstock concert in Rome, N.Y.

Henry T. Nicholas III

Henry T. Nicholas III On June 5, 2008, Broadcom co-founder and former CEO Henry Nicholas III was indicted on charges of illegal stock-option...

Arthur Budovsky

Arthur Budovsky, a co-founder of LibertyReserve, was indicted on July 26, 2006 for allegedly violating Article 13-B of New York State Banking Law. Article 13-B of the New York banking law states that it is a felony to transfer money without a license if one knowingly transmits $250,000 or more in a year from a single client in a year; $25,000 or more in 30 days; and $10,000 or more in a single transition. As we already covered in our article dedicated to LibertyReserve on November 21, 2008, at that time when Budovsky was arrested along with his partner Vladimir Kats he owned illegal transmittal business GoldAge as well as such businesses as ECSN INC., EXECUTIVE COMMERCIAL SERVICES INC., INTERNETWORK MANAGEMENT INC., GGN INC., B TO B MARKETPLACE INC. and MGA INTERNATIONAL INC. And while with the imprisonment of the founders of e-gold and e-bullion their services went dead after them, LibertyReserve is still operation on the web with a lot of users still trusting the company.

Arthur Budovsky

Arthur Budovsky, a co-founder of LibertyReserve, was indicted on July 26, 2006 for allegedly violating Article 13-B of New York State Bankin...

Douglas Jackson

On November 20, 2008 Douglas Jackson along with other directors of e-gold and Gold & Silver Reserve company received their sentences from the federal judge. He was indicted in April 2007 of providing a haven for criminal activity like processing investment scams and payments for child pornography. Douglas Jackson faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. But he spared a heavier fine because, according to his attorney, he's deeply in debt. Thus he was sentenced to pay only $200 fine with three years of probation and 300 hours of community service. The case with Douglas Jackson is a typical sample of American freedoms dilemma. On one hand the law is expected to prevent illicit and adverse behavior of criminals that results in high material and emotional losses. On the other hand law should protect freedom of a person to keep his privacy safe from intrusion. Perhaps, Jackson is to blame for his quests for earnings as long as child porno-dealers are making huge profits on their production, but initially it is the government who should prevent such kind of felony to take place at all. But the law prefers inflict penalty on intermediaries after the crimes have been already committed many times by the true violators. Thus, that paltry similarity to the reputed business which was the e-gold service after it made trials to recover could no longer attract customers because they new that their privacy was no longer safe.

Douglas Jackson

On November 20, 2008 Douglas Jackson along with other directors of e-gold and Gold & Silver Reserve company received their sentences fro...

James Fayed

On Monday July 28, 2008 Jim Fayed's estranged wife Pamela Fayed was stabbed to death in a parking structure at 1875 E. Century Park in Century City, California. The crime occurred at 6:30PM in daylight and was overheard by numerous people who responded to the victim's screams. A surveillance camera recorded enough details for a rental car to be identified by license plate and for a suspect description to be announced. She was due to appear that day in one of several ongoing legal meetings in her divorce from Jim Fayed and was reportedly attempting to stop him from moving or hiding some of the joint assets involved in E-Bullion. On August 1, 2008 Jim Fayed was arrested under felony charges of conducting unlicensed money transactions via E-Bullion. Federal authorities have seized $60,000 in cash, $3,000,000 in gold bullion and a credit card that allegedly was used to pay for the rental car that fled from the murder scene. Well, while one group of financial dealers are sacrificing thousands of people in order to make their fortune others prefer to get rid off just one person that poses an obstacle on their seizure of the money they are ‘eligible’ to possess. Surely the murder is not the only one crime committed by e-bullion owner Jim Fayed. It was just the last act in his fraudulent drama aimed at making profits. Money laundering and illegal money exchange were the first charges brought against him. People will remember James Fayed as one more e-gold like financial wheeler-dealer with a reputation of a wife-murderer on top.

James Fayed

On Monday July 28, 2008 Jim Fayed's estranged wife Pamela Fayed was stabbed to death in a parking structure at 1875 E. Century Park in C...

Bernard Madoff

Bernard Madoff On December 11, 2008, at 8.30 a.m. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Madoff on a tip-off from his sons, Andrew and Mark, and charged him with one count of securities fraud. On the day prior to his arrest, Madoff told his senior executives at the firm that the management and advisory segment of the business was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme." Five days after his arrest, Madoff's assets and those of the firm were frozen and a receiver was appointed to handle the case. Madoff's alleged fraud may be valued at a loss of up to a US$50 billion in cash and securities. Banks from outside the U.S. have announced that they have potentially lost billions in U.S. dollars as a result. The FBI complaint states that Madoff told his sons he believed the losses from his scheme could exceed that $50 billion sum. To date, it is the largest investor fraud ever attributed to a single individual. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC has acted on the Wall Street stage as a top market maker since 1960! It is a history of 48 years. Often we feel more respect and confidence towards the institutions with a considerable time background which is natural inasmuch as long terms of existence are usually a sign of viability and good strategy. Well, ordinary mortals that believed in reliability of Madoff’s company are not to be counted because huge corporations and reputed foundations along with prominent film directors like Steven Spielberg invested their hard-earned money into the financial structure that in fact has nothing to pay to its investors. One year brought the whole construction to an end! One year resulted in an immense loss. One year unveiled the ‘largest investor fraud ever attributed to a single individual’. Now it is hard to imagine what is there left in the world we can trust except ourselves.

Bernard Madoff

Bernard Madoff On December 11, 2008, at 8.30 a.m. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Madoff on a tip-off from his sons, Andrew ...

Kingate Global, one of the biggest investors in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, explicitly warned its clients of the danger

Kingate Global, one of the biggest investors in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, explicitly warned its clients of the danger that the brokerage “could abscond with those assets,” and yet attracted $2.75 billion, The Financial Times reported, citing documents sent to investors.Kingate Global channelled its money to Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities to manage and highlighted the risk of giving custody of its assets Mr. Madoff, although he was not named in the documents. The investor also said it would not check the accuracy of statements he provided.The alert is the most explicit in a series of warnings from feeder funds that put almost all their cash with Mr. Madoff’s firm.Few of the funds named Mr. Madoff or his brokerage in their documents, while others insisted they were monitoring the performance of their manager to ensure trades were executed as claimed, the F.T. said.In its marketing documents, Fairfield Greenwich, which operated the biggest feeder fund, said that Madoff’s services were “essential to the continued operation of the fund.”

Kingate Global, one of the biggest investors in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, explicitly warned its clients of the danger

Kingate Global, one of the biggest investors in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, explicitly warned its clients of the danger that...

Val Southwick was sentenced in June to nine consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for securities fraud.

Val Southwick was sentenced in June to nine consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for securities fraud.At a Dec. 16 parole hearing ...

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui complaint that alleges he was involved in a "secret kickback scheme to defraud Fry's Electronics of millions of dollars.''

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui, 42,who goes by "Omar" and has been Fry's vice president of merchandising and operations, appeared in federal court today, where prosecutors filed a complaint that alleges he was involved in a "secret kickback scheme to defraud Fry's Electronics of millions of dollars.'' Fry's executives didn't know about the illegal kickbacks, the federal complaint states. The alleged scheme occurred from 2005 until mid-October when a Fry's high-level employee walked into Siddiqui's office at 600 E. Brokaw Road and saw confidential spreadsheets, letters and extraordinarily high commission amounts on Siddiqui's desk. Siddiqui is expected to be formally charged in U.S. District Court on Jan. 15, on counts of money-laundering and wire fraud.According to the complaint, which was unsealed today, Siddiqui convinced Fry's that the company should eliminate sales representatives on his accounts, and instead, he'd act as a middleman between vendors and Fry's. He promised that he'd save Fry's a lot of money that way. But instead, the complaint alleges, he ended up charging exorbitant commissions — up to 31 percent, or ten times the normal amount — to the <blockquote>vendors, which he funneled to his own "straw'' company PC International. Vendors were guaranteed steady business, so Siddiqui would have a steady cash flow to pay off casinos. Siddiqui spent $162 million in three years at just two of his favorites, the MGM Grand Casino and Las Vegas Sands Casino, according to his bank statements detailed in the complaint written by IRS Agent Andres Gonzalez.</blockquote>The complaint says Siddiqui made "secret, backroom sales contracts to vendors, and in return, vendors gave him a kickback.'' "It was his responsibility to find Fry's the best price,'' said IRS spokeswoman Arlette Lee. "He was allegedly causing Fry's to overpay millions on merchandise.'' None of the vendors are household names.After seeing the documents on Siddiqui's desk, the Fry's employee called the Internal Revenue Service. Federal agents swarmed Fry's corporate headquarters Friday and arrested Siddiqui, taking him away in handcuffs. Stunned co-workers watched as he was taken away. Siddiqui was a "longtime friend" of John Fry, said Fry's spokesman Manuel Valerio. The reaction of employees and management to Siddiqui's arrest, he said, "is one of surprise and shock — and that's an understatement."He made it clear, however, that "anything that may have taken place that may have been wrongful, Fry's as a company has not been financially harmed nor have any of our customers been harmed through the purchase of products," he said.For his part, a clean-shaven Siddiqui appeared worried and serious in court today. He stood mostly silent, wearing the standard bright orange shirt of the Santa Clara County jail, where he was held over the weekend. Through his criminal attorney, Sam Polverino, he declined comment. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg altered Siddiqui's no-bail conditions today, allowing him to post $300,000 bond and be monitored with an electronic bracelet. The judge also ordered Siddiqui to stay away from Las Vegas, and was assured through Siddiqui's lawyers that he wouldn't be flying there anymore to on the Fry's corporate jet, or casino-paid jets, which he apparently has done before. "I know you do a great deal of travel to Las Vegas,'' Seeborg said. "That's not allowed anymore. Nevada is off limits.''Before setting his lowered bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Moore and defense attorneys discussed how much Siddiqui is worth; revealing that he owns a $1 million Palo Alto condominium and a Ferrari. A woman who appeared in court on Siddiqui's behalf declined comment. During the court hearing, conversations in court also revealed that Siddiqui has no close family; he is "estranged" from his siblings and his parents are deceased. He has no wife or children, and according to his civil attorney, who appeared as a "friend of the court,'' Siddiqui has several casinos after him to pay off gambling debts.

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui complaint that alleges he was involved in a "secret kickback scheme to defraud Fry's Electronics of millions of dollars.''

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui, 42,who goes by "Omar" and has been Fry's vice president of merchandising and operations, appeared in fede...

Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT guru was killed late Friday night in a solo plane crash

Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT guru--who was compelled six weeks ago to testify in an Ohio vote-tampering case--was killed late Friday ni...

Shana Madoff, was a rules-compliance lawyer at the firm's market-making arm and the daughter of Bernard Madoff's brother Peter

Shana Madoff, Bernard Madoff's niece of the man who ran Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, didn't know of her uncle Bernie...

Police will file fraud charges against Mikasa Foods President Mitsuo Fuyuki and some other persons, possibly in mid- January

Police will file fraud charges against Mikasa Foods President Mitsuo Fuyuki and some other persons, possibly in mid- January, in connection with the resale of imported rice tainted with pesticides for human consumption, according to investigative sources. The charges will be lodged against the 73-year-old president of the Osaka-based wholesaler and others by the joint team of investigators from the prefectural police headquarters from Osaka, Fukuoka and Kumamoto, the sources said. <blockquote>In September, investigators searched Mikasa Foods and 27 relevant locations after the company drew public flak for diverting the imported rice officially designated as not fit for human consumption due to residual pesticides and fungal contamination for edible use. </blockquote> The rice was sold as a material for industrial glue by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The firm, which sold the rice to a total of 390 companies, including alcoholic beverage makers and other food makers, was raided on suspicion of breaching the food sanitation law. The firm is suspected of selling 110 tons of the Chinese-produced rice tainted with the pesticide methamidophos from around November last year to a rice wholesaler in Fukuoka Prefecture after buying the rice from the trading houses that imported it. The company is also suspected of disguising 5.4 tons of rice imported from Vietnam and contaminated with the pesticide acetamiprid as edible and selling it to a Kumamoto-based sake brewer in May. <blockquote>Mikasa Foods bought the Vietnamese-grown rice at 19 yen per kilogram from the ministry, selling it to the maker and other sake brewers at 98 yen and raking in handsome profits from January to May, the investigative sources said. </blockquote> Fuyuki, speaking at a news conference in September after revelations of the shadowy resale transactions, acknowledged having instructed his employees to perpetrate the deals to make profits. Then farm minister Seiichi Ota subsequently resigned to take the blame for the ministry's inability to detect the diversion of the rice for human consumption.

Police will file fraud charges against Mikasa Foods President Mitsuo Fuyuki and some other persons, possibly in mid- January

Police will file fraud charges against Mikasa Foods President Mitsuo Fuyuki and some other persons, possibly in mid- January, in connection ...

Polaroid Corp will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Polaroid Corp will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which doesn’t surprise us, in this time of economic recession. The company...

Bernard Madoff, the man accused of masterminding a $US50 billion ($A73.5 billion) investment fraud, is under round-the-clock house arrest.

Bernard Madoff, the man accused of masterminding a $US50 billion ($A73.5 billion) investment fraud, is under round-the-clock house arrest.He's holed up in his $US7 million New York City apartment after prosecutors warned of his "harm or flight".Madoff, 70, has been subject to electronic monitoring and a 7 pm curfew under a December 17 court order. Now he is barred from leaving his Upper East Side apartment except for court appearances, and his building will be watched by security guards and video surveillance, according to a letter from prosecutors filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday night Australian time. "The bail conditions are what the government has agreed to," Madoff's lawyer Ira Sorkin said. He wouldn't say whether Madoff had been threatened. <blockquote>Madoff was arrested earlier this month after telling his two sons and federal investigators that he had been using money from new investors to pay off old ones in a massive Ponzi scheme.</blockquote>He said clients of New York-based Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC lost $US50 billion. The security service, which was put into place on the weekend, will watch Madoff's doors and will be able to send a signal from an observation post to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the letter. One reason for the new bail conditions was "to prevent harm or flight," the government said. The New York Daily News last week quoted an unnamed source saying that Madoff and his family had been threatened if he didn't repay investors. Other bail conditions remain. Madoff posted a $US10 million bond, guaranteed by his wife and brother Peter, and he and his wife have agreed to surrender homes in Manhattan, Montauk, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, if he flees. Madoff remains subject to electronic monitoring. The Manhattan apartment is worth about $US7 million, according to bail papers. Ruth Madoff, who hasn't been accused of wrongdoing, also has surrendered her passport. Madoff, who hasn't formally responded to charges against him, is due to return to court on January 12.

Bernard Madoff, the man accused of masterminding a $US50 billion ($A73.5 billion) investment fraud, is under round-the-clock house arrest.

Bernard Madoff, the man accused of masterminding a $US50 billion ($A73.5 billion) investment fraud, is under round-the-clock house arrest.He...

Four Finnish men are set to go on trial for a major investment scam

Four Finnish men are set to go on trial for a major investment scam. The men are suspected of conning investors out of some 800,000 euros. A...

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) could be a serious casualty of one of the largest investment frauds in history

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) could be a serious casualty of one of the largest investment frauds in history, the New York Times reported Friday. <blockquote>The US newspaper said ADIA - which is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund - indirectly invested $400 million into Bernard L. Madoff’s scheme in 2005 through investment fund, Fairfield Sentry Fund.</blockquote> This investment was revealed in a profile of the firm drawn up for a prospective buyer in 2007, according to the New York Times.A number of private investors, banks and investment firms were shocked to recently discover they had fallen victim to a fraudulent investment scheme after Madoff - a Wall Street broker and the former chairman of Nasdaq - was accused of running a multibillion-dollar scam.A note on Fairfield Greenwich Group's website states that more than half of its investments are tied up in vehicles connected to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLM). Farfield said, as of Nov. 1, its assets under management totalled approximately $14.1 billion, of which approximately $7.5 billion was invested in vehicles connected to BLM.The New York Times said that Fairfield was one of BLM’s largest investors and ADIA in turn was one of Fairfield’s largest investors."Even after the investment authority took two significant redemptions from the fund, in April 2005 and 2006, its stake the following year of $132 million made up 2 percent of the fund’s assets under management," the newspaper said.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) could be a serious casualty of one of the largest investment frauds in history

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) could be a serious casualty of one of the largest investment frauds in history, the New York Times rep...

Remedan, the company behind Zitech Computer, was declared bankrupt in Hillerød Court today.

Remedan, the company behind Zitech Computer, was declared bankrupt in Hillerød Court today. This has finally put an end to shop chain Zitech...

Tribune has hired bankruptcy advisers as the ailing newspaper company faces a potential bankruptcy filing

Tribune has hired bankruptcy advisers as the ailing newspaper company faces a potential bankruptcy filing, people briefed on the matter said.The newspaper, which was taken private last year by billionaire investor Samuel Zell, has hired advisers including Lazard and Sidley Austin, one of its longtime law firms, these people said. Tribune has been hobbled by debt related to that sale last year, which has been compounded by the growing drought of advertising for newspapers.It is only the latest — and biggest — sign of duress for the newspaper industry yet. Several newspaper companies have struggled to cope with declining revenues and mounting debt woes. Tribune has pared back the newsrooms of many of its papers, including The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore Sun, and it sold off Newsday to Cablevision’s Dolan family earlier this year.While Tribune must contend with hefty interest payments over the next year, its most pressing problem is a maintenance covenant on some of its debt that limits the company’s borrowings to no more than nine times earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization. Even if the company continues to make interest payments, failure to maintain that level of debt means technical default — which does not always lead to a bankruptcy filing. Other newspaper publishers have halted making interest payments on their debt, but have yet to file.A CreditSights analyst, Jake Newman, wrote in a research report published last month that Tribune avoided technical default in the third quarter partially through some accounting adjustments. “We think the company will have difficulty meetings its year-end covenant compliance,” Mr. Newman wrote.Tribune has sought to ameliorate its woes by selling off assets like the Chicago Cubs, the company still faces a looming debt crunch. Tribune hired Lazard several weeks ago to assess its options, these people said. Sidley Austin is a longtime outside adviser to Tribune, and it has a well-respected bankruptcy practice as well. The company’s problems have long been reflected in the price of its bonds. Tribune bonds maturing Aug. 15, 2010 with a 4.88 percent coupon traded at $13.25 on Friday, suggesting severe levels of distress.

Tribune has hired bankruptcy advisers as the ailing newspaper company faces a potential bankruptcy filing

Tribune has hired bankruptcy advisers as the ailing newspaper company faces a potential bankruptcy filing, people briefed on the matter said...

Polaroid, the 70-year-old photography-film maker, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors

Polaroid, the 70-year-old photography-film maker, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors two and a half months after Tom Petters, founder of Polaroid’s parent company, was arrested on fraud allegations. Polaroid said it made the filing to “facilitate” its financial restructuring. The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company didn’t list a range of assets or debt in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis. Its parent, Petters Group Worldwide LLC, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 11.“The financial-structuring process and the bankruptcy filing are the result of events at Petters Group Worldwide, the company that has owned Polaroid since 2005,” Polaroid said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire today. Federal prosecutors accused Tom Petters of leading a more than $2 billion fraud at the company. Petters Group was also indicted. Polaroid said it isn’t a target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe. Lorrie Parent, a Polaroid spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return a call for comment left after business hours. Petters resigned as Petters Group chief executive officer Sept. 29 after the FBI received information that at least 20 investors may have been victims of a lending scam and raided the company’s Minnetonka headquarters. Petters has been jailed since his arrest on Oct. 3. “Polaroid has entered bankruptcy with ample cash reserves sufficient to finance the company’s reorganization,” it said in the statement. “The company has not sought, nor does it expect to seek additional debtor-in-possession financing.”The case was filed by Douglas A. Kelley, Petters Group’s court-appointed receiver. Kelley put Petters Group into bankruptcy after a judge ordered its assets to be frozen. Sun Country Airlines Inc., another unit of Petters Group Worldwide, sought bankruptcy protection Oct.6 for the second time in seven years. Sun Country said it filed for protection from creditors because of the raid on Petters Group and to retain control of its assets rather than have them frozen and under a receiver’s control. The company said its assets and debt are each less than $100 million. Sun Country said its 20 largest creditors without collateral backing their claims are owed about $256.8 million. Petters Capital LLC is listed as the largest unsecured creditor, with a claim of $184 million.

Polaroid, the 70-year-old photography-film maker, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors

Polaroid, the 70-year-old photography-film maker, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors two and a half months after Tom Petters, found...

Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. announced Dec. 17 that it plans to break the leases for 154 of the 155 stores

Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. announced Dec. 17 that it plans to break the leases for 154 of the 155 stores it’s closing thi...

rapper Doug E. Fresh is reportedly broke and in danger of losing three houses in Harlem after owing more than $3.5 million in unpaid mortgages.

rapper Doug E. Fresh is reportedly broke and in danger of losing three houses in Harlem after owing more than $3.5 million in unpaid mortgag...

Bush administration is looking at "orderly" bankruptcy as a way to deal with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry

Bush administration is looking at "orderly" bankruptcy as a way to deal with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry, the White ...

Sale of Pratt's Gateway Ethanol plant was approved today by a federal judge in Kansas City.

Larry Frazen, an attorney for Bryan Cave and who handled the sale, said Minneapolis-based investment bank Dougherty Funding bought the plant...

Anurag Dikshit Billionaire co-founder of an internet gambling company has pleaded guilty to violating US internet laws and agreed to forfeit $300m

Billionaire co-founder of an internet gambling company has pleaded guilty to violating US internet laws and agreed to forfeit $300m (£192m)....

More firms around the globe disclosed ,Bernard Madoff’s financial records were “utterly unreliable” and will take six months to sort out

Bernard Madoff’s financial records were “utterly unreliable” and will take six months to sort out, said Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corp. “There are some assets, but I have no idea what the relationships of the assets available are to the claims against them,” Harbeck said on Bloomberg Television. “The records are utterly unreliable on this case.” His comments came as Bank Medici AG of Austria became the latest lender to reveal a loss from Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud. Two funds at the Viennese bank, 75 percent owned by Chairman Sonja Kohn, invested $2.1 billion entirely in Madoff’s firm, the bank said today. Other victims included institutions and wealthy individuals from Tokyo to Paris. New York’s Yeshiva University said it lost $110 million, mostly through hedge funds controlled by trustee J. Ezra Merkin. U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, meantime, told the Securities and Exchange Commission to explain how it failed to detect the “giant Ponzi scheme.”More firms around the globe disclosed they were caught up in the $50 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff, a former chairman of Nasdaq. <blockquote>* BANCO SANTANDER SA - Spain's largest bank said its investment fund, Optimal, has a 2.33 billion euro ($3.05 billion) exposure to Madoff Securities. * TREMONT HOLDINGS INC - The hedge fund group's Rye Investment Management unit had virtually all of its assets invested with Madoff and lost roughly $3 billion, people familiar with Tremont said. Tremont is a unit of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co (MassMutual). * ASCOT PARTNERS LLC - According to a Wall Street Journal report, the fund where former GMAC chairman Jacob Ezra Merkin is a money manager has an exposure of $1.8 billion. * ACCESS INTERNATIONAL ADVISORS - According to a report by Bloomberg, Access has an exposure of $1.4 billion. * FORTIS NV - The Dutch banking unit of the group recently acquired by the Dutch government said it may have a loss of up to 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) due to loans made to funds that invested in Madoff Securities. * HSBC HOLDINGS PLC - The banking and financial services group said it has potential exposure of $1 billion after providing financing to a small number of institutional clients who invested in funds with Madoff. * BENBASSAT & CIE - The Swiss private bank has an exposure of $1.1 billion francs ($935 million), according to Le Temps. * UNION BANCAIRE PRIVEE - The Swiss bank that invests in funds of hedge funds has lost about 1 billion francs ($850 million), according to Le Temps, citing unnamed banking sources. * NATIXIS SA - The French bank said it could have a 450 million euro ($602 million) indirect exposure to Madoff. * ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC - The bank said it had exposure through trading and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds invested with Madoff, with a potential loss of around 400 million pounds ($598 million). * BNP PARIBAS SA - France's largest listed bank said it has a potential 350 million euro ($464 million) exposure. * BBVA - Spain's second-largest bank said international operation has about 30 million euros of exposure to Madoff, and has a maximum potential loss from Madoff-linked investments of 300 million euros ($404 million). * MAN GROUP PLC - The U.K. hedge fund said RMF, its fund of funds business, has about $360 million invested in two funds that are directly or indirectly subadvised by Madoff. * DEXIA SA - The Belgian bank said private banking clients had exposure to funds invested in Madoff of 78 million euros ($107 million). Said bank was exposed through lending operations to funds exposed to Madoff funds to up to 164 million euros ($224 million). * REICHMUTH & CO - The Swiss private bank said its fund of funds Reichmuth Matterhorn had an exposure to investments linked to Madoff that amounted to about $325 million. * NOMURA HOLDINGS INC - Japan's biggest brokerage said it had a 27.5 billion yen ($303 million) exposure related to Madoff, but the impact on its capital would be limited. * MAXAM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC - The fund has lost about $280 million on funds invested with Madoff, a source familiar with the situation said. * EIM GROUP - Le Temps reported that EIM Group, a fund of hedge funds, said it had a $230 million exposure. * AOZORA BANK LTD - The Japanese bank said it had an estimated 12.4 billion yen ($137 million) indirect exposure to Madoff through invested funds. It said it expected only limited impact on its capital. * UNICREDIT SPA (CRDI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) - The Italian bank said its own exposure to Madoff's alleged fraud is about 75 million euros ($101 million). Some funds in its Pioneer Investments unit "are exposed to Madoff indirectly through feeder funds," it said. * NORDEA BANK AB - The Nordic region's biggest bank said its pension clients had an indirect exposure of 48 million euros ($66 million) to the alleged fraud. * BENEDICT HENTSCH - Swiss private bank said its exposure to products linked to Madoff amounted to 56 million francs ($47 million), or less than 5 percent of assets under management. * FAIRFIELD SENTRY LTD - The $7.3 billion hedge fund run by Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group said it had accounts with Madoff Investment Securities. * KINGATE GLOBAL FUND LTD - The $2.8 billion hedge fund run by Kingate Management Ltd had invested in Madoff Investment Securities, according to sources. * UBS AG - The investment bank unit of the Swiss financial group said it has a limited and insignificant counterparty exposure. * BRAMDEAN ALTERNATIVES LTD - U.K. asset manager, headed by well known fund manager Nicola Horlick, said 9.5 percent of its holdings were exposed to Madoff. * THE TOWN OF FAIRFIELD, CONN. EMPLOYEES PENSION FUND - The Connecticut pension fund said it had about $40 million managed by Madoff. * BOSTON PROPERTIES INC BXP.N - Chairman Mort Zuckerman told CNBC television that about 10 percent of one of his charitable trusts was invested with Madoff and had lost about $30 million. * CHAIS FAMILY FOUNDATION - The group, which donates about $12.5 million annually to Jewish causes, said it will be forced to close after the entire fund was invested with Madoff. * AUSTIN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT - The company managed money for the Massachusetts state pension fund, which lost $12 million with Madoff, it said. * BANK MEDICI - The closely held Austrian bank serving wealthy clients and institutional investors, said it held products affected by the fraud, but was not at risk in case of a loss. It declined to say how big the exposure was.</blockquote> The list grows endlessly.It is clear that the customers of the Madoff firm need the protections available under federal law," Stephen Harbeck, president and CEO of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which helps investors at failed brokerage firms, said Monday in a statement.But, he warned, "it is unlikely that SIPC and the trustee will be able to transfer the customer accounts of the firm to a solvent brokerage firm" due to the state of the firm's records.Shares in Santander, the biggest bank in Spain and the second-largest in Europe after HSBC, plunged after the lender said it had exposed more than three billion dollars to Madoff Investment Securities in New York.

More firms around the globe disclosed ,Bernard Madoff’s financial records were “utterly unreliable” and will take six months to sort out

Bernard Madoff’s financial records were “utterly unreliable” and will take six months to sort out, said Stephen Harbeck, president of the Se...

Chief Executive Robert Ferguson was sentenced to two years in prison

Former General Re Corp. Chief Executive Robert Ferguson was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for helping American International Grou...

Austria's Bank Medici said Tuesday it was affected by a major Wall Street fraud scandal

Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff, 70, was arrested last week in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion scheme to defraud investors, including the world's big banks, the rich and the famous."In connection with the Madoff fraud case, the bank itself is invested but due to its solid capital structure it is not at risk in any way," the Vienna-based bank said in a statement.Medici also indicated that its Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxemburg Fund — with a total volume of $2.1 billion (1.5 billion euros) — were exposed to the scam and that 93 percent had been bought by international investors."The majority of the funds were invested with Madoff," Austrian newspaper Die Presse quoted bank board member Peter Scheithauer as saying in an online interview published late Tuesday. "It's not certain that all the money is gone," he added.A quarter of the private bank is owned by Unicredit's Bank Austria. The remaining 75 percent belong to chairwoman Sonja Kohn, who has served as advisor to Austria's economics and foreign affairs ministers and to Vienna's stock exchange

Austria's Bank Medici said Tuesday it was affected by a major Wall Street fraud scandal

Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff, 70, was arrested last week in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion scheme to defraud investors, ...

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP was retained by individuals and institutions that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP was retained by individuals and institutions that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to investments made by Funds of Funds ("FOFs"), Hedge Funds, Investment Advisory Firms, International Banking Concerns, and Brokerage Houses through Madoff Investment Securities LLC and Bernard L. Madoff. It is now apparent that FOFs, Hedge Funds, Investment Advisory Firms, and Brokerage Houses invested billions of dollars with Madoff and these investments are now worthless. FOFs market themselves to institutional and retail investors based on their purported expertise in picking qualified managers and the due diligence they purportedly perform on the managers to whom they ultimately commit capital. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the FOFs that entrusted their clients' money with Madoff should have been aware of the numerous "red flags" that were raised by Madoff's activities. It is also now apparent that these FOFs failed to perform the necessary due diligence that they were being compensated to perform as investment managers and fiduciaries. Some of the FOFs that invested with Madoff include Tremont Capital, Farfield Greenwich Advisors, Fairfield Sentry, RMF Investment Management, Bramdean Alternatives, Union Bancaire Privee, Maxam Capital Management, EIM Group, and Rye Select Broad Market Fund. Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 70 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New York City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP was retained by individuals and institutions that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP was retained by individuals and institutions that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars du...

Mets owner Fred Wilpon and partner Saul Katz may have lost as much as $300 million in fraudulent investment scheme

world's most powerful and wealthy investors were taken in by New York broker Bernard Madoff's alleged giant pyramid scheme, Bernard L. Madoff was arrested on a securities fraud charge on Dec 11, 2008. (AP) Victims of Madoff's alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud stretched from Tokyo to Europe and top investors in the United States. Madoff was arrested Thursday after allegedly confessing to employees that he had been running a so-called Ponzi scheme, or pyramid fraud, which had collapsed with losses exceeding 50 billion dollars. For decades Madoff was a pillar of Wall Street, cultivating an exclusive list of investment clients including big banks, hedge funds and individuals. Record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez, who signed a three-year, $37-million free-agent contract with the New York Mets this week, may want to collect that in cash rather than check. That's because Mets owner Fred Wilpon and partner Saul Katz may have lost as much as $300 million in the fraudulent investment scheme allegedly run by Wall Street tycoon Bernard Madoff, according to CNBC.Wilpon's Sterling Equities, which owns the Mets, the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones and real estate in New York and Florida, confirmed to the New York Post that it had invested money with Madoff but wouldn't say how much. The company also declined to speculate on how the losses would affect the Mets.Madoff has been charged with duping investors of as much as $50 billion in what authorities allege was a long-running Ponzi scheme.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon and partner Saul Katz may have lost as much as $300 million in fraudulent investment scheme

world's most powerful and wealthy investors were taken in by New York broker Bernard Madoff's alleged giant pyramid scheme, Bernard ...

Financial institutions in Geneva invested SFr5 billion ($4.25 billion) in the fraudulent scheme of Wall Street trader, Bernard Madoff.

Reports say hedge funds and other financial institutions in Geneva invested SFr5 billion ($4.25 billion) in the fraudulent scheme of Wall Street trader, Bernard Madoff.The report in the Saturday edition of Le Temps newspaper followed Friday's revelation by Swiss wealth management bank, Bénédict Hentsch, that it had entrusted Madoff's investment company with SFr56 million of its clients' assets.However, the regulatory body, the Federal Banking Commission, said on Saturday it did not have any details as to the extent of the impact of the Wall Street scandal on Switzerland. Madoff, a former Nasdaq stock market chairman and founder of an investment securities company bearing his name, was arrested on a securities fraud charge on Thursday.He is suspected of running a phoney investment business that lost at least $50 billion and amounted to nothing more than a "Ponzi scheme" - a pyramid-type swindle in which very high returns are promised to early investors." The Wall Street Journal reports that also the Zurich based bank Neue Privat Bank is hit by the Madoff scandal:"Nomura and Neue Privat Bank, meanwhile, together marketed access to Fairfield Sentry Ltd., a fund overseen by Mr. Madoff and sold through Fairfield Greenwich. The shares offered by Neue Privat and Nomura were leveraged three times -- meaning $3 of borrowed money was added to every $1 of capital invested in order to magnify returns, greatly increasing the potential losses for those investors."

Financial institutions in Geneva invested SFr5 billion ($4.25 billion) in the fraudulent scheme of Wall Street trader, Bernard Madoff.

Reports say hedge funds and other financial institutions in Geneva invested SFr5 billion ($4.25 billion) in the fraudulent scheme of Wall St...

Bernard Madoff, fallout Investors scrambled to assess potential losses

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUQ_aWU7JvI/AAAAAAAAFGA/9iYeQLhBKno/s1600-h/Bernard-Maddoff-Hedge-Fund-Fraud-Case.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279414385087555314" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUQ_aWU7JvI/AAAAAAAAFGA/9iYeQLhBKno/s400/Bernard-Maddoff-Hedge-Fund-Fraud-Case.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 200px;" /></a> Investors scrambled to assess potential losses from an alleged $50 billion fraud by Bernard Madoff, a day after the arrest of the prominent Wall Street trader. Prosecutors and regulators accused the 70-year-old, who was chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market in the early 1990s, of masterminding a fraud of epic proportions through his investment advisory business, which managed at least one hedge fund. Hundreds of people, investing with him through the firm's clients, entrusted Madoff with billions of dollars, industry experts said."Madoff's investors included captains of industry, corporations - some of which are publicly traded - that used Madoff almost as a high-yielding cash management account, endowments, universities, foundations and, importantly, many high-profile funds of funds," said Douglas Kass, who heads hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management."It appears that at least $15 billion of wealth, much of which was concentrated in southern Florida and New York City, has gone to 'money heaven,'" he said. Federal agents arrested Madoff at his apartment on Thursday after prosecutors said he told senior employees that his money management operations were "all just one big lie" and "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme."A Ponzi scheme is an illegal investment vehicle that pays off old investors with money from new ones, and is dependent on a constant stream of new investment. Because the invested capital is not earning a sufficient return on its own, such schemes eventually collapse under their own weight.Madoff is the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, a market-making firm he launched in 1960. His separate investment advisory business had $17.1 billion of assets under management.About a dozen angry investors gathered on Friday in the lobby of the Lipstick Building in midtown Manhattan, where the market-making firm and advisory business are headquartered, demanding to know the fate of their money.One woman said that when she called the firm's offices on Thursday she was told it was "business as usual."Another investor groused, "Business as usual? Of course it's business as usual. We're getting screwed left and right."Police later evicted the small group from the building.Individual investors were feeling the squeeze elsewhere."I expect to get back zero," said Floridian Susan Leavitt, who invested through Madoff. "When he tells the feds he has $200 million to $300 million left out of billions, what can you expect?"Two law firms, Milberg LLP and Seeger Weiss LLP, said Friday they had been retained by "dozens of individual investors" in Madoff Securities.The two most prominent hedge funds that invested with Madoff were the $7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Ltd, run by Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group, and the $2.8 billion Kingate Global Fund Ltd, run by Kingate Management Ltd.Fairfield Greenwich Group said it was trying to determine the extent of potential losses and vowed to pursue recovery of any lost assets. The firm said it had been working with Madoff for nearly 20 years.Fairfield Sentry and Kingate Global were among a small group of hedge funds to report positive returns for 2008; the average hedge fund was down 18 percent, according to data from Hedge Fund Research."People who came to us for portfolio construction were often already invested with Bernie Madoff. He had hundreds of clients," said Charles Gradante, who invests in hedge funds as a principal at Hennessee Group LLC. "Now his whole legacy is destroyed. He was God to people."Prior to Madoff's arrest, investors had wondered how he was able to generate annual returns in the low double digits in a variety of market environments. Many questioned how U.S. regulators were able to ignore numerous red flags with regard to Madoff's operations."Many of us questioned how that strategy could generate those kinds of returns so consistently," said Jon Najarian, an options trader who knows Madoff and is a co-founder of optionmonster.com.In May 2001, Barron's reported that option strategists for major investment banks said they could not understand how Madoff managed to generate the returns that he did."We weren't comfortable with Madoff," said Brad Alford, president at investment adviser Alpha Capital in Atlanta. "We didn't understand how his strategy could generate the kind of returns it did. We will walk away from things like that."U.S. stocks tumbled in early trading on Friday, with some investors citing the Madoff case as well as the failure of talks in Congress on a rescue for the U.S. auto industry. The market later rebounded, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing 0.75 percent higher for the day. Investors overseas were reeling from the alleged fraud.Benedict Hentsch, a Swiss private bank, said it had 56 million Swiss francs ($47 million) of exposure to Madoff's investment advisory business.Italian bank UniCredit SpA's fund management unit, Pioneer Investments, has exposure through its Primeo Select hedge fund, two people familiar with the matter said.Bramdean Alternatives Ltd said almost 10 percent of its holdings were exposed to Madoff, sending shares in the UK asset manager crashing.CNBC Television reported that Sterling Equities, which owns the New York Mets baseball team, had accounts managed by Madoff.Madoff said "there is no innocent explanation" for his activities, and that he "paid investors with money that wasn't there," according to the federal complaint.Prosecutors also accused Madoff of wanting to distribute as much as $300 million to employees, family members and friends before turning himself in.Charged with one count of securities fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed separate civil charges.A hearing had been scheduled for Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on the SEC's request to grant powers to the court-appointed receiver to oversee the entire firm, as well as on the commission's request for a firmwide asset freeze.But the hearing was canceled after the matter was resolved, said a deputy for U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton. No other details were immediately available. The receiver, lawyer Lee Richards, had been appointed by the judge on Thursday to oversee assets and accounts of the firm held abroad.Madoff's lawyer, Dan Horwitz, said on Thursday: "We will fight to get through this unfortunate set of events." His client was released on $10 million bond. Madoff is a member of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's nominating committee. His firm has said it is a market-maker for about 350 Nasdaq stocks. He is also chairman of London-based Madoff Securities International Ltd, whose chief executive, Stephen Raven, said the firm was "not in any way part of" the New York-based market-maker.All equity trades involving the market-making firm will be processed as usual, the Depository Trust Clearing Corp told Reuters on Friday

Bernard Madoff, fallout Investors scrambled to assess potential losses

Investors scrambled to assess potential losses from an alleged $50 billion fraud by Bernard Madoff, a day after the arrest of the prominent ...

Tom Petters is now scheduled to go on trial in early February.

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHJ6-JOpmI/AAAAAAAAFEo/QuqGg08N5ZY/s1600-h/20081008_petters_mug_3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278722253206234722" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHJ6-JOpmI/AAAAAAAAFEo/QuqGg08N5ZY/s400/20081008_petters_mug_3.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 300px;" /></a> Tom Petters is now scheduled to go on trial in early February. Petters is facing charges that he masterminded a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme. Petters pleaded not guilty in a federal courtroom in St. Paul Tuesday. St. Paul, Minn. — A little over a year ago, Richard Feldman heard about what seemed to be a great money-making opportunity. It looked like it would consistently provide a 12 to 18 percent annual return. Feldman, a composer living in California, said he's now one of the investors facing a loss from Petters' alleged scheme. The investment opportunity involved financing the sale of surplus consumer electronics and other products. Investors would provide money to a broker who was a middle-man between manufacturers or other vendors and retailers, like Costco and Wal-Mart. It made sense to Feldman, at least then. "When they had excess merchandise or merchandise that had not sold or whatever, they would then use brokers to sell that merchandise," Feldman said. "We were financing that transaction." The profit apparently came from the markup on the sale and interest on the financing. The vendors and manufacturers weren't identified, but it seemed like such an enticing opportunity. At times, the investment was even closed too, apparently because there were too many people ready to put money into such a seemingly sure thing. "Frankly, I don't expect to recover anything."- Richard Feldman, a Petters investor. Feldman put in some serious money, via a Palm Beach firm that invested with Petters. He wouldn't say how much money. "I was led to believe this was a very good investment and very safe because of the safeguards that had been put in place in terms of how the money was invested, with Petters, though I didn't know it was Petters at the time," Feldman said. Like most investors, Feldman didn't take profits from the investment, he let them grow. He said that's what most investors did, happy to see their returns add up. Or so it seemed. "They let it ride for the most part," he said. "There were people who did redeem, and they were presumably paid by other investors in the typical Ponzi scheme." In a Ponzi scheme, a fraudulent operation promises high returns but merely pays off investors with money from other investors. Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant, pulled off a grand fraud like that in the 1920s. It was so notorious a plot that such frauds have since been known as Ponzi schemes. Ponzi schemes can have a long run, granted too many people don't ask for their money back. The federal indictment charges that Petters, through two of his companies, Petters Group Worldwide and Petters Co. Inc., defrauded investors out of $3.5 billion in a scheme that lasted more than 10 years. The feds charged that Petters and his co-conspirators told investors their money would be used to buy merchandise that would be resold to retailers at a profit. But, the feds say no merchandise existed and no sales were made. Instead, the money was used to pay off other investors, and bankroll Petters' extravagant lifestyle. <blockquote>In hindsight, Feldman said there were lots of opportunities to detect something was amiss with this investment. Feldman is kicking himself, the firm that directed his money to Petters, auditors, insurance companies and others. There's lots of blame to go around. </blockquote> "The type of sophisticated investors that invested in this should have done better due diligence," Feldman said. "And why wasn't this caught sooner? And all these questions come with hindsight. For example, the insurers should have had pictures of the merchandise, and none of that was provided. Why it wasn't, I don't know." Feldman said he understood the merchandise was insured, or should have been. And a prudent insurer would have wanted evidence that it existed. Problem is, there was no merchandise and Feldman did not know that at the time. Looking back, Feldman said it also doesn't make sense that companies like Costco would buy goods this way. Or, that the brokers allegedly involved would have to pay such high interest rates on the money they borrowed. Cheaper money should have been available elsewhere. Feldman expects there'll be a lot of investor lawsuits in the Petters case. But Feldman doubts there'll be much, if any, money for investors like him when the legal battles end. "Frankly, I don't expect to recover anything. I think there will be very little to recover at the end of the day," he said. Petters is scheduled to stand trial starting February 9, 2009. But his attorney, Jon Hopeman, argued the trial can't start that soon because he'll need much more time to prepare his defense of Petters. Petters maintains his innocence.

Tom Petters is now scheduled to go on trial in early February.

Tom Petters is now scheduled to go on trial in early February. Petters is facing charges that he masterminded a multi-billion dollar fraud s...

Elizabeth Monrad, the convicted ex- finance chief of General Reinsurance Corp. who faces possible life in prison

Elizabeth Monrad, the convicted ex- finance chief of General Reinsurance Corp. who faces possible life in prison for her role in a $597 million fraud, said she should have testified at her trial to proclaim her innocence. “I will regret it for the rest of my life,” said Monrad, 54, in an interview with Bloomberg News, her first about the case. “I’m coping. I wall off the normal part of my life from the legal nightmare. I’m still in disbelief. The trial’s outcome was a total shock.” Monrad was convicted Feb. 15 with four other insurance executives of using a sham transaction in 2000 to deceive shareholders at American International Group Inc. None of the defendants testified. All face as much as life in prison when they are sentenced in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut. Monrad spoke about her defense strategy as one of her co- defendants nears the first sentencing. Prosecutors said former General Re Chief Executive Officer Ronald Ferguson joined Monrad and others who illegally helped AIG add $500 million in loss reserves, a key indicator of an insurer’s health. Ferguson will be sentenced Dec. 16. No date has been set for Monrad. Deciding whether to let an executive testify is one of the hardest choices for a defense lawyer, attorneys say. An executive seeking to explain her state of mind must weigh the peril of cross-examination by prosecutors. In earlier trials, jurors convicted former WorldCom Inc. Chairman Bernard Ebbers and ex- Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling after they testified. Ebbers is serving 25 years. Skilling got 24 years. ‘I’m Innocent’ “I know I’m innocent,” said Monrad, who said she will appeal. The other four defendants said they intend to appeal.

Elizabeth Monrad, the convicted ex- finance chief of General Reinsurance Corp. who faces possible life in prison

Elizabeth Monrad, the convicted ex- finance chief of General Reinsurance Corp. who faces possible life in prison for her role in a $597 mill...

NovaStar Financial Inc. has agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a class-action securities-fraud lawsuit

NovaStar Financial Inc. has agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a class-action securities-fraud lawsuit that originated in April 2004.The ...

Arrest warrant has been issued for former New York Giants star Mark Ingram

Arrest warrant has been issued for former New York Giants star Mark Ingram after he failed to report to federal prison to begin serving near...

Daryl Batts, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHGFh5swqI/AAAAAAAAFEg/UO55b8zH4s0/s1600-h/bats.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278718036556956322" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHGFh5swqI/AAAAAAAAFEg/UO55b8zH4s0/s400/bats.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 241px;" /></a> "May you rot in hell!" investor Russell Burrell yelled to a seated Daryl Batts, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the scheme amid a packed federal courtroom in Anderson.Federal marshals surrounded Burrell as he approached Batts, who was seated at the defendants table, and blamed him for ruining his marriage and forcing his son to fight in Iraq instead of pursuing his dream to go to school to become a minister. "I don’t even want to live," Burrell said, at one point growling at Batts loudly. "Do you know what you did to me, man?!"U.S. District Judge Ross Anderson listened to testimony from more than a dozen victims who say that the 46-year-old former youth minister used deceit, religion and the good name of an established insurance company to fool them into giving him money that he never invested. One investor -- Tia Foster, a young kindergarten teacher from Concord, N.C. -- told the judge that she gave Batts all $240,000 of the life insurance left to her when her husband passed away and now can’t pay medical bills related to her diabetes and failing kidneys. Before sentencing him, the judge asked Batts how "in the name of all that is holy" did he think he would be able to sustain what prosecutors have said is a "classic Ponzi scheme." Batts told Anderson that he had no explanation for his actions but that he had a "rationalization" that he would invest the money later in a Palmetto Bank account he owned, pay back his clients and then "wash my hands of it." "I stand before you as a criminal," Batts said, telling the judge that he wants to pay his investors back. Beginning in 2002, Batts owned an investment firm -- Comprehensive Financial Solutions Inc. -- that he used to sell insurance policies, mutual funds and other financial products to about 150 investors but never invested the money. Insurance policies and investment funds provided by MassMutual Financial Group were sold through Batts, but the fraud involved was not known to MassMutal, which wasn’t involved in any criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said after court. To fool investors, Batts would submit fake financial statements to mortgage brokers, who secured loans for individual investors in return for commissions paid to him, Wilkins said. Batts told his clients that he would pay the premiums on their life insurance polices and that he would be repaid out of the proceeds of the policy, plus interest, when the person died or the policy matured and paid out, prosecutors said. Instead, Batts converted the money to his own use -- including buying a home at the Reserve on Lake Keowee and Lexus cars that were recently sold. Investors who wanted some or all of their money would be paid from the proceeds of new investors.Thus far, Batts has been ordered to pay $3 million in restitution as attorneys try to identify money and assets to seize. It’s unclear exactly how much can be recovered, Wilkins said, but a receiver for the case has recovered $3 million and found that Batts paid investors $3 million to keep the scheme afloat. The total loss to investors so far is $6 million, Wilkins said, and Batts’ final restitution will be determined after the location of money and assets is complete. There is no parole in federal prison. The investigation into the scheme is ongoing, with some subjects still left to be vetted, Wilkins said. One by one, 20 investors stood to share their stories of loss of betrayal they felt after Batts assured them that their money was safe -- oftentimes praying with them as they shared their skepticism. Some said they had forgiven him, others said they were still trying to. "He did it with a smile on his face and a Bible in his hand and on his knees praying," said investor Joanie Benjamin, who told the judge that she gave Batts $85,000 after going online to view what she thought were legitimate investment statements. "He hid behind God," investor Susan Hunter told the judge, imploring him to send Batts to jail immediately because Batts has spent the past six months having parties while on house arrest. "He used religion every day to swindle people. A thief with a gun ... at least you know what you’re dealing with." "I asked him if this was a Carolina Investors thing," Hunter said, referring to the 8,000 investors who lost about $275 million when Carolina Investors and parent company HomeGold Financial collapsed in 2003. "He told me, ‘absolutely not.’" Frank Eppes, Batts’ defense attorney, told the judge that Batts would pay taxes on his income and donate money to his church, the YMCA and Clemson’s athletics booster club, IPTAY. "I’ve never seen anyone steal so much and profit so little," Eppes said. "He’s frankly one of the most inept criminals I’ve ever seen. He never had a way out of this situation." Before Batts was aware of a federal investigation, Eppes said, he approached him to tell him of his financial situation. The accounts were then frozen, Eppes said, a federal charges were filed shortly after. Eppes asked Anderson to send Batts to the federal prison in Edgefield to be closer to his family, who was present at the sentencing. Anderson said that he couldn’t control where Batts was sent. The crowd clapped as Anderson told Batts that he would be going to jail immediately, but Anderson told the crowd that emotional outbursts weren’t appropriate. Anderson thanked investors for helping tell the story of Batts’ life, which he said "was not a pretty picture." "I think that sentence will serve its purpose," Anderson said.

Daryl Batts, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison

"May you rot in hell!" investor Russell Burrell yelled to a seated Daryl Batts, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the sch...

Assemblyman, Anthony S. Seminerio, incorporated his own consulting firm to conceal the illegal payments

Assemblyman, Anthony S. Seminerio, incorporated his own consulting firm to conceal the illegal payments. On Wednesday, a grand jury found enough evidence to indict Mr. Seminerio on one count of mail fraud “to solicit and receive a stream of corrupt payments.” Mr. Seminerio, 73, would face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Reached on his cellphone on Wednesday evening, Mr. Seminerio declared his innocence. “I’m bewildered by everything,” he said. “I’m not a crook.”The indictment makes claims of fraud that is more extensive than outlined in a complaint in September. The complaint accused the assemblyman of receiving about $500,000 from hospitals and other entities that had business before the state from 2000 through this year. The indictment, however, said that Mr. Seminerio received about $1 million. In exchange, the indictment said, Mr. Seminerio rewarded the businesses by arranging “favorable treatment.”Mr. Seminerio’s case has prompted renewed calls from government watchdog groups to strengthen New York’s ethics laws, which allowed the assemblyman to conceal the payments through a consulting firm that he identified on his financial disclosure forms. Because the Legislature keeps tight control over what it publicly releases about lawmakers’ finances, specific information on the amount of income Mr. Seminerio received is redacted from the forms that are available to the public.The only income that the forms revealed from 2005, 2006 and 2007 were payments of at least $1,000 from an entity identified as Marc Consultants. The indictment asks that Mr. Seminerio forfeit the $1 million that he is alleged to have earned by soliciting the payments.

Assemblyman, Anthony S. Seminerio, incorporated his own consulting firm to conceal the illegal payments

Assemblyman, Anthony S. Seminerio, incorporated his own consulting firm to conceal the illegal payments. On Wednesday, a grand jury found en...

former chief of Macedonian Telecommunications, Atila Sendrei and three of his associates charged with power abuse and embezzlement.

Macedonian police on Wednesday charged the former chief of Macedonian Telecommunications, Atila Sendrei and three of his associates with power abuse and embezzlement. All four are suspected for making fictional consulting deals with companies based in Cyprus during 2005. Sendrei this way might have embezzled up to €4 million, the police said at a press conference.Macedonia’s Telecom refused to comment for Balkan Insight and announced a press release for later.“Sendrei is not in the company for more than a year so we have no contact with him what so ever,” Verce Stefkovska from the Telecom’s public relations department said. The fraud cost Macedonia at least €800,000 since at the time the state owned 47 percent of the company shares, police spokesman Ivo Kotevski told local media at the press.Since all four suspected are foreign citizens and are not available to the investigation, the police said that it might later issue international warrants. “The case has been submitted to the public persecution. When it reaches the court the Police will decide on the warrant issue,” Kotevski said.Sendrei came to Macedonia after Magyar Telecom took over the country’s state-owned telecommunications company which had a monopoly in the industry at the time. Macedonians remember Sendrei for the reported record profits the company made while he was its head.Macedonian Telecomunications later re-branded its services and now operates under the brand of Deutsche Telecom’s T-Home.

former chief of Macedonian Telecommunications, Atila Sendrei and three of his associates charged with power abuse and embezzlement.

Macedonian police on Wednesday charged the former chief of Macedonian Telecommunications, Atila Sendrei and three of his associates with pow...

Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area

Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area.The 47-year-old former NBA player was arrested Tuesday at his home by FBI agents after a federal indictment was unsealed. He and three others each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and eight counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges Minniefield was a real estate agent in fraudulent home loans designed to secure payments for expensive upgrades that were never performed. The indictment claims he represented buyers even though he never met them and they never visited the properties they were supposedly buying.Minniefield also is accused of contacting the sellers' agents to propose language that would increase the sales prices of homes by including a substantial payment for the renovations.Phone calls to Minniefield's attorney and officials with more information about the arrest weren't immediately returned.Minniefield played at Kentucky from 1980-83 and remains the school's career assists leader with 646. He spent three seasons in the NBA, playing for Cleveland, Houston, Golden State and Boston.The conspiracy count carries a punishment of up to five years in prison, and each wire fraud count has a maximum 20-year term. All the counts could result in fines totaling $250,000, and the indictment is seeking a forfeiture of $10 million.

Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area

Dirk Minniefield has been charged in an alleged $10 million mortgage scheme in the Houston area.The 47-year-old former NBA player was arrest...

Wachovia Corp. (WB) has begun to reimburse victims of a telemarketing fraud

Wachovia Corp has begun to reimburse victims of a telemarketing fraud as part of its April settlement with U.S. banking regulators, mailing nearly 750, 000 checks totaling more than $150 million to the victims.The case involves relationships the bank had with several telemarketers and payment processors that obtained bank-account information over the phone from thousands of elderly and poor consumers by offering to sell them identify-theft certificates, discount travel vouchers and other questionable products or services, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the Treasury Department that regulates U.S. banks. The OCC's central allegation against Wachovia was that some of the bank's officials knew about the deceptive telemarketing practices but failed to take quick action to resolve the problem. The regulator said Wachovia "profited from these activities in the form of fees collected from and balances maintained at the bank by the payment processors and telemarketers."In addition to the checks, victims who believe they have been charged bank fees because of unauthorized withdrawals are entitled to compensation. Victims will receive a claim form for bank fees along with the checks. "These victims were lulled by fraudulent telemarketers into a false sense of security to give up their confidential banking information," said Acting United States Attorney Laurie Magid.Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) agreed to acquire Wachovia in October amid questions about the company's viability.

Wachovia Corp. (WB) has begun to reimburse victims of a telemarketing fraud

Wachovia Corp has begun to reimburse victims of a telemarketing fraud as part of its April settlement with U.S. banking regulators, mailing ...

Marc Dreier prominent attorney was ordered jailed without bail

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHD0TVflgI/AAAAAAAAFEY/YIGhI15VNaU/s1600-h/data.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278715541565969922" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/SUHD0TVflgI/AAAAAAAAFEY/YIGhI15VNaU/s400/data.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" /></a> Marc Dreier prominent attorney was ordered jailed without bail Thursday after a federal prosecutor estimated losses of $380 million in an alleged hedge fund fraud. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton denied bail for Marc Dreier, whom prosecutor Jonathan Streeter called a "Houdini of impersonation."Streeter said Dreier was "in a desperate situation and the only way out of the desperate situation is to flee." "His life has completely unraveled," said the prosecutor, adding that the fraud has been going on since at least 2006 and Dreier had duped "some of the most sophisticated investors in the world."Dreier had traveled extensively in the last year and had contacts abroad where money might be hidden, said Streeter. Dreier's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, who calls the case "very complicated," had sought a $10 million bail package with electronic monitoring.The scandal has stunned Dreier LLP, a mid-size law firm that has represented celebrities, including retired football star Michael Strahan and former News Corp. publishing executive Judith Regan.Dreier LLP partner Joel Chernov said in court papers that many lawyers have left the firm, rent is overdue and BlackBerry service is being terminated. He says $27 million appears to be missing from the firm's escrow accounts.Dreier also is charged in Toronto with impersonation in connection with the attempted sale of $45 million of notes to a hedge fund.Streeter cited "over $380 million actual loss." "There's a large amount of money completely unaccounted for," said Streeter, who did not elaborate further. A judge denied bail on Thursday for a prominent New York lawyer accused of selling sham investments to hedge funds, a scheme that prosecutors now say may have been much larger than originally thought. The case against Marc Dreier, founder and sole equity partner at the 250-attorney law firm Dreier LLP in New York, has stunned the city's legal community. The Harvard Law School graduate is a 30-year veteran lawyer, whose firm has specialties in bankruptcy, litigation and employment law.Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Streeter said in court the actual monetary losses in the case may now exceed $380 million, compared with about $100 million when the case was announced on Monday. He said the fraud has likely been going on since January 2006.Dreier was ordered to remain in custody. He was arrested on Sunday for what authorities called a "stunning" and "brazen" scam.Streeter said Dreier had been fooling some of the world's most sophisticated investors. He is accused of scheming to market fake debt from a New York-based real estate developer to hedge funds and other institutional investors. Prosecutors say he cajoled his way into real estate and pension fund offices and created fake documents to try to convince investors that the worthless debt securities he touted were real. <blockquote>"I'm going to order detention based on risk of flight," U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton said at a hearing.</blockquote> Eaton said he may revisit that ruling at a later date, but that for now, too much is unknown about Dreier's finances, such as whether the attorney has access to money abroad or has close associates who could potentially help him flee. "The investigation is just beginning," the judge said. Dreier, 58, faces federal criminal securities and wire fraud charges, as well as civil fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has not yet responded to the charges in court, but his lawyer, Gerald Shargel, told the judge his client would cooperate fully with the court-appointed receiver hired to oversee the law firm's finances.Dreier looked disheveled and unshaven, wearing a dark blue jail uniform and orange tennis shoes. His lawyer said he has been held under "inhuman" conditions at a Manhattan detention center and has been only allowed to shower infrequently. Shargel had sought to have Dreier released on a $10 million bond and offered to have him placed under house arrest at Dreier's large home in Quogue, a village in Long Island, New York, with two armed guards on the premises at all times.But Streeter said Dreier should remain in custody, calling him a scam artist of "exceptional ingenuity." "Mr. Dreier is in a desperate situation and the only way for him out of the desperate situation is for him to flee," he said, calling him a "Houdini of impersonation and false documents."

Marc Dreier prominent attorney was ordered jailed without bail

Marc Dreier prominent attorney was ordered jailed without bail Thursday after a federal prosecutor estimated losses of $380 million in an al...

Bernard L. Madoff, who helped start the Nasdaq Stock Market and has been a force in Wall Street trading for nearly 50 years, was arrested by federal a

Bernard L. Madoff, who helped start the Nasdaq Stock Market and has been a force in Wall Street trading for nearly 50 years, was arrested by...

Marc Dreier, 58, is accused of selling promissory notes that did not belong to him to three hedge funds

Marc Dreier, 58, is accused of selling promissory notes that did not belong to him to three hedge funds, starting in October"Marc Dreier allegedly used his law license and his access to institutional investors to perpetrate a brazen fraud," said Acting United States Attorney Lev L. Dassin.Dreier is the founder and managing partner of Dreier LLP, a law firm of more than 250 attorneys with its principal office in New York City and additional offices in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the country, federal officials said.According to the U.S. attorney's office, Dreier told a Connecticut hedge fund in early October that a New York City real estate development company had a "note program" by which the developer sold promissory notes to investors. Dreier purportedly said some investors who had bought notes wanted to sell them because they needed money due to the current financial crisis. Authorities say Dreier also told the hedge fund that he represented the selling investors and the developer and that the Connecticut hedge fund could buy those notes at a significant discount.Dreier sent the hedge fund purportedly audited financial statements, authorities say, and the hedge fund wired approximately $13.5 million in late October to an account controlled by Dreier to pay for a note with a face value of $25 million.He also negotiated in October with a New York-based hedge fund that agreed to buy notes purportedly issued by the developer, the authorities said. That hedge fund ultimately wired about $100 million to the Dreier account, the U.S. attorney's office alleges in a seven-page complaint unsealed Monday.During the course of the negotiations with the New York hedge fund, officials said, Dreier arranged a conference call with hedge fund personnel and an individual he said was the developer's chief executive officer. However, the developer's CEO told authorities he did not issue any of the notes, that his signature on certain of the purported promissory notes was a forgery and that he did not participate in a conference call with the New York hedge fund.Police in Toronto, Canada, arrested Dreier on December 2 on suspicion that he impersonated a Canadian company employee in connection with the sale of notes with a face value of more than $40 million to a third hedge fund, the U.S. attorney's office said."Dreier was charged with one count of impersonation with intent," according to Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella. U.S. officials arrested Dreier on Sunday night when his plane landed at LaGuardia Airport, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.He is charged in federal court with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, and was appearing before a U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York on Monday.The securities fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million. The wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.

Marc Dreier, 58, is accused of selling promissory notes that did not belong to him to three hedge funds

Marc Dreier, 58, is accused of selling promissory notes that did not belong to him to three hedge funds, starting in October"Marc Dreie...

Stein Bagger, sought by Interpol on alleged fraud and conspiracy charges turned himself in Saturday at a Los Angeles police station,

head of a Danish software company who was sought by Interpol on alleged fraud and conspiracy charges turned himself in Saturday at a Los Angeles police station, according to a newspaper report.Stein Bagger, CEO of Danish software and services company IT Factory, had not been seen since he disappeared Nov. 27 while on vacation with his wife and daughter in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.On Saturday morning, he walked into a police station in downtown Los Angeles and said, "I am Stein Bagger. I'm a fugitive from Europe, and I'm here to turn myself in," according to a report in The Los Angeles Times.Police were initially skeptical but took him more seriously after noticing his Armani suit and $65,000 Rolex wrist watch, the newspaper said. He was turned over to federal authorities on Saturday night and held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Bagger told police he landed in New York from Dubai on Nov. 28, borrowed a friend's credit card and Audi sports car and drove to Los Angeles. On Saturday morning, he typed "police" into the car's navigation system and turned himself in at the first police department that showed up on the list, the Times said.It's the latest twist in a drama that has made national headlines in Denmark over the past week.IT Factory was an IBM business partner that provided hosted software services built on IBM's Lotus platform. The company reported soaring revenue and profit for the past few years, and Bagger was recently named "Danish Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young LLP.But last early last week, following investigative reports about the company by Computerworld Denmark, IT Factory filed for bankruptcy. Chairman Asger Jensby estimated that 90% of the company's turnover had been fictitious.IT Factory allegedly created contracts for nonexistent products with companies that did not exist, and sold the contracts to banks and other investors. Denmark's largest bank, Danske Bank AS, said on Tuesday that IT Factory has debts with it of 350 million Danish krone ($60 million U.S.). Bagger apparently went to some lengths to cover up the unfolding scandal. When questions were asked about the authenticity of a Ph.D. he claimed to have received from "San Francisco Technical University," Bagger allegedly hired an American actress to pose as a university employee and verify his qualifications for reporters.

Stein Bagger, sought by Interpol on alleged fraud and conspiracy charges turned himself in Saturday at a Los Angeles police station,

head of a Danish software company who was sought by Interpol on alleged fraud and conspiracy charges turned himself in Saturday at a Los Ang...

Juan Luis Llamas,room manager of a telemarketing call center operating out of Costa Rica was sentenced today to 11 years in prison

A room manager of a telemarketing call center operating out of Costa Rica was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for his participation in a massive, Costa Rica-based, telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted thousands of U.S. residents, resulting in victim losses of more than $10 million, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced today. Juan Luis Llamas, 33, of Yuba City, Calif., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney of the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Whitney also ordered Llamas to pay restitution of $4.2 million jointly and severally with co-conspirators. Llamas is the 30th defendant to be sentenced on conspiracy and wire fraud charges from a series of indictments returned by federal grand juries in Charlotte and Asheville, N.C. Llamas pleaded guilty on Nov. 26, 2007. The indictments in this case charge the defendants with conspiring to defraud U.S. residents, most over the age of 55, out of millions of dollars by deceiving them into believing they had won a large monetary prize in a "sweepstakes contest." According to the indictments, calls to victims were made from Costa Rica using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which utilized computers to make telephone calls over the Internet, disguising the originating location of the calls. Victims were informed that the callers were purportedly from the "Sweepstakes Security Commission" and that to receive their "prize," they were to wire thousands of dollars to Costa Rica for a purported "refundable insurance fee." According to the indictment, as long as the victims continued to pay, the co-conspirators continued to solicit them to send more money. To date, 33 defendants have pleaded guilty and three have been convicted by jury trials. On Sept. 24, 2008, telemarketing room owner Giuseppe Pileggi, 48, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced to 50 years in prison, and ordered to forfeit $8.3 million. An indictment is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The investigation is being conducted by a multi-agency task force comprised of law enforcement authorities from Costa Rica, the U.S. Postal Investigative Service, the Departments of Justice and Commerce, along with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of the Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted by Fraud Section Senior Trial Attorney Peter B. Loewenberg and Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick M. Donley, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Oneika Duncan and Legal Administrative Specialist Pamela Washington.

Juan Luis Llamas,room manager of a telemarketing call center operating out of Costa Rica was sentenced today to 11 years in prison

A room manager of a telemarketing call center operating out of Costa Rica was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for his participation in...

CEO of Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest private bank, has died unexpectedly.

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/STwPM9g5EJI/AAAAAAAAFDY/zoagIndln9o/s1600-h/widmer.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277109578716745874" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ANNSRoaDZro/STwPM9g5EJI/AAAAAAAAFDY/zoagIndln9o/s400/widmer.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 400px;" /></a> CEO of Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest private bank, has died unexpectedly. Alex Widmer, a widower, died aged 52, leaving behind three children.It has been reported that close friends of Mr Widmer's family said he committed suicide, though Swiss police will not confirm this.The CEO of Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest private bank, has died unexpectedly.Alex Widmer, a widower, died aged 52, leaving behind three children.It has been reported that close friends of Mr Widmer's family said he committed suicide, though Swiss police will not confirm this.Julius Baer dates back to the 19th century and manages more than 360billion Swiss franch in assets for wealthy individuals and institutions.Shares in Julius Baer have lost some 60 per cent this year as markets have worried about outflows at its hedge fund GAM.However a spokesman for the bank said there was no link between Mr Widmer's death and the group's current activities, but declined to give further details on the cause of death on Wednesday night.A source said employees at the bank had been told Widmer had died from an unspecified illness. In an interview with Bloomberg conducted the day before his death, Mr Widmer said: 'Even if global wealth creation is getting slower, we should do better than the rest.'A Zurich-based trader who did not want to be named said: 'It is a great shame. It is very sad. He [Mr Widmer] embodied Julius Baer. He was the most important person in private banking.'Following the news, shares in Julius Baer fell 6.5 per cent to 34.60 Swiss francs, underperforming a 1.5 per cent drop in the DJ Stoxx index of European banking stocks.

CEO of Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest private bank, has died unexpectedly.

CEO of Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest private bank, has died unexpectedly. Alex Widmer, a widower, died aged 52, leaving behind thre...

Latvian security police, detained Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a 32-year-old economist,for questioning the stability of Latvia’s 26 banks and its currency

The Latvian security police, who usually track down spies and terrorist threats, detained Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a 32-year-old economist, for questioning the stability of Latvia’s 26 banks and its currency, the lats. Freed after two days of questioning, he is still under investigation for spreading “untruthful information” and has been ordered not to leave the country.“All I said was what everyone knows,” he said. He is not alone. A popular musician was also recently hauled in for questioning after cracking a joke about the banks’ stability at one of his concerts. Latvia has long been prickly about financial stability. In 1995, when the country’s biggest bank collapsed, depositors lost £500m and its senior executives were imprisoned.Last year there were rumours that the lats was about to be devalued, prompting a rush into the euro. The security police were called in to investigate the source of the rumours and the culprit turned out to be a drunk, who was released after questioning.This prompted calls for tougher penalties against “reckless” financial chatter and the law was amended to allow jail terms of up to six years for disseminating false information about the financial system.When that system began to crumble in the autumn, police agents began scanning internet chatrooms, newspapers and telephone text messages for economic pessimism. Smirnovs got into trouble for predicting serious problems for Latvia, telling a local newspaper in October: “All I can advise is: don’t keep money in banks and don’t keep money in lats.”Yet his gloom seems justified. Last month Latvia took over Parex, the largest locally owned bank, to save it from collapse. It denied that it needed aid but is now in talks with the International Monetary Fund.

Latvian security police, detained Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a 32-year-old economist,for questioning the stability of Latvia’s 26 banks and its currency

The Latvian security police, who usually track down spies and terrorist threats, detained Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a 32-year-old economist, for qu...

Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to investors

Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to investors they swindled in Arizona and 11 other states.The administrative-law judge also said that Chandler residents Ed Purvis and Gregg Wolfe should pay $250,000 in fines for their part in operating Nakami Chi Group Ministries.The judge's ruling must be ratified by the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates securities and oversees corporations in the state. The commission is scheduled to vote on the Nakami case before the end of the year. The ruling crowns a three-year investigation by the Corporation Commission into Valley-based Nakami, which investigators say targeted churchgoers as part of a Ponzi scheme, including at least one pastor, church elders and members of Chandler Christian Church and Vineyard Church in Avondale.None of the principals could be reached for comment Friday. Purvis has denied any wrongdoing.Wolfe last year agreed to turn state's evidence and admitted to investigators that he and Purvis for years funneled millions of dollars in investors' money into offshore accounts as part of the scheme.Tony Senarighi of Prescott, a one-time investor who testified against the pair, said he was pleased with the ruling. "They are crooks," said Senarighi, who invested $50,000 with Purvis and later got it back from him. "They took other people's money. ... There was a lot of deception here."The civil ruling could lead to a criminal-fraud investigation into a case that has already involved accusations of fraud, bribery of a police officer, harassment of public officials and a series of bizarre legal filings against lawyers, a judge, investigators and a reporter.A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is an investment scam that uses money from new investors to pay old investors. Authorities said that, while he promised investors 24 percent annual returns, Purvis was dipping into their money to buy cars and jewelry, make a down payment on an $800,000 home, and pay gambling debts and other personal expenses. Evidence led the judge, Marc Stern, to set the restitution order at $11 million, but the Corporation Commission could vote to lower or raise the amount.The judge said there was ample evidence to show that Purvis and Wolfe's wives knowingly benefited and ordered Maureen Purvis and Allison Wolfe to share in the fines and restitution. Ed Purvis is serving an 18-month prison sentence at Safford after being convicted in May of bribing a Chandler police officer and on four counts of harassing public officials in an attempt to thwart the Corporation Commission's investigation. Purvis and Wolfe filed so-called admiralty claims against two attorneys investigating the fraud allegations, a judge in the case and the clerk of Maricopa County Superior Court. They also filed liens and lawsuits against a financial adviser who alerted authorities to their scheme and an reporter.Admiralty law concerns ships and commerce on navigable waters, but groups with roots in militia movements have used it to suggest that it supersedes the Constitution. Purvis and Wolfe told investors that their company was worth $170 billion and controlled assets around the world, including gold mines, Australian developments, telecom firms, banks and a Phoenix technology company. A Republic investigation in 2006 raised questions about the size and holdings of Nakami, which used a Scottsdale post-office box as its company business address. State records showed Purvis was a licensed practical nurse and Wolfe is a former roofing contractor. Records also show Purvis and Wolfe do not have brokers', lenders' or banking licenses.

Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to investors

Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to inv...

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