Bankrupt Banker

Police raided the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin yesterday morning

<blockquote>Countdown to raid on Anglo:May 2007 Anglo Irish Bank’s shares peak at more than €17 each July 2008 A so-called “golden circle” of ten investors secretly buys a 10 per cent stake in the bank September 30 Government unveils a €400 billion guarantee scheme for six banks, including Anglo Irish December 18 Sean FitzPatrick, the chairman, resigns and admits he hid more than €80 million in secret loans from shareholders Decemeber 19 David Drumm, the chief executive, resigns December 21 Government recapitalises Anglo with €1.5 billion December 29 Shares plummet to 12 cents January 15, 2009 The Government is forced to nationalise Anglo January 16 Shareholders call for the board to be sacked January 19 Five board members resign February 10 Irish Life & Permanent’s €7 billion deposit to boost Anglo’s balance sheet is revealed February 20 Donal O’Connor, the new executive chairman, reveals that it gave loans worth €451 million to ten customers last year to buy shares in the bank. A report finds that Anglo has 15 customers who owe it more than €500 million each February 24 Investigators raid Anglo’s Dublin offices</blockquote> Police raided the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin yesterday morning, compounding the economic woes of the Irish Republic and helping to send its stock market to a 14-year low. The troubled bank was raided by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), supported by about 25 police officers. The bank has a significant exposure to the falling British property market. The regulator said that, among other suspected irregularities, it was investigating the unwinding of significant contracts for difference. <blockquote>Anglo Irish Bank, which was nationalised last month, is at the centre of a series of corporate scandals. Sean FitzPatrick, its former chairman and chief executive, resigned in December after admitting that he had failed to disclose an €87 million (£77 million) loan that he had repeatedly moved in and out of the bank over eight years. </blockquote> Anglo Irish is also at the centre of a loans-for-shares scandal involving ten of its biggest clients, and there are allegations of share-price manipulation and of irregularities over loans to its directors, as well as claims that the bank used multibillion-euro transfers from Irish Life & Permanent to boost its deposit base improperly. About 120,000 people took to Dublin’s streets last weekend to protest against the Government’s handling of the financial crisis afflicting the nation. Last night the Government vowed to prosecute those who jeopardised the country’s financial stability. Dermot Ahern, the Justice Minister, said: “Legislation is in place to bring to justice those who may have played hard and fast with the financial security of this country. The Government will go after banking chiefs involved in wrongdoing that has tarnished the country’s reputation internationally. “We operate the rule of law. That provides that whether you have a balaclava, a sawn-off shotgun or a white collar and designer suit, the same rules apply.” Noel Dempsey, the Transport Minister, said this week that those suspected of wrongdoing would be guilty of “economic treason” if they were found to be culpable. In announcing the raids yesterday, Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, promised in the Dáil that the Government would not intervene in the ODCE’s inquiry. He said: “I have consistently made clear that . . . the Government would do nothing to prejudice subsequent criminal or civil proceedings.” ODCE officials arrived at Anglo Irish’s headquarters at about 9.30am yesterday with a search warrant that had been issued by a court on Monday. A spokesman said that the warrant authorised the regulator to “acquire books, documents and any other materials which may provide evidence”. Last night Brian Lenihan, the Finance Minister, said that investigations would be “completed in a matter of weeks”. The Dublin stock index fell below 2,000 points for the first time since May 1995. In mid-morning trade it was down 3 per cent at 1,989, less than a fifth of its value two years ago. It closed at 2,034, down 15 points.

Police raided the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin yesterday morning

Countdown to raid on Anglo:May 2007 Anglo Irish Bank’s shares peak at more than €17 each July 2008 A so-called “golden circle” of ten invest...

Scott Eyre has had his assets frozen by federal regulators as the government investigates the Stanford Financial Group and an alleged $8 billion fraud

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSaZkOvoRJLeTqumaVXj8xR1k_d59euA4dRgnFKdhMfGOlh0jJUccIG3o7o_zDERuSQKUevZGVIk3e_qfvlTmwqKznT9e1hso6fzxDfgb5ZNRo9oHVkkwmE2preNf9FHOKoIGwg1NYer-/s1600-h/scott.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306318257921392322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSaZkOvoRJLeTqumaVXj8xR1k_d59euA4dRgnFKdhMfGOlh0jJUccIG3o7o_zDERuSQKUevZGVIk3e_qfvlTmwqKznT9e1hso6fzxDfgb5ZNRo9oHVkkwmE2preNf9FHOKoIGwg1NYer-/s400/scott.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 235px;" /></a> Scott Eyre has had more on his mind this spring than just baseball. Eyre, like many Americans, has found himself a victim of a massive financial fraud scheme. <blockquote>"Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to pay my bills. I'm broke right now. I have no money. I have $13 in my wallet." -- Scott Eyre </blockquote>"Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to pay my bills," the lefty reliever said Monday at Bright House Field. "I'm broke right now. I have no money. I have $13 in my wallet." Eyre, like Yankees outfielders Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady and Rays first baseman Carlos Pena, has had his assets frozen by federal regulators as the government investigates the Stanford Financial Group and an alleged $8 billion fraud scheme that involves billionaire Robert Allen Stanford. The Securities and Exchange Commission froze the assets of three Stanford entities. Damon and Nady have said they are having trouble paying bills because their liquid assets have been frozen, and Nady has said he is having problems securing housing in New York."I can't pay my bills right now," Eyre said. "My wife just wrote all these checks to pay bills, and they're all going to bounce. If it takes a week or two to get my money back, I'm going to have to ask my teammates for some money. Seriously, I'm going to have to ask them that. I can't get any money out." Eyre has another account not affiliated with Stanford, but he said that account doesn't have enough to handle living expenses -- including mortgage, bills, etc. -- on a long-term basis. "We'll get our money back eventually," Eyre said. "They caught ours so early that they think we'll only lose the interest. Supposedly, the money is insured. But it's all a scheme, so who knows if that's real insurance or not? "If I do lose all the money, I will need to play for another year." Eyre's future in baseball is what led to him to discuss his financial troubles. Eyre thought 2008 might be his last season in baseball after Cubs manager Lou Piniella buried him in the bullpen. But the Cubs eventually traded Eyre to the Phillies in August, and he found new life. He went 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 19 appearances as he helped Philadelphia win the World Series. Eyre felt so good last year, he enjoyed the Phillies and the city so much, that he decided to play one more season. The club obliged when it signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract. "I'm treating this like it is my last year," Eyre said. "I'm working harder. I'm making sure that I do the things I need to do. In all honesty, I didn't work as hard as I could the last couple years, and I feel [badly] about that. You do what you do in the offseason, and in the season, you kind of get lax. And I'm not going to do that this year. It's not going to happen." Eyre said he apologized to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry when he traded him to the Phillies. "Why?" Hendry said. "I don't feel like I fulfilled the promise that I made you that I would work hard," Eyre replied. So Eyre will work hard to go out on top, if this is it. "My wife is ready for me to be home, and my kids are ready for me to be home," Eyre said. "And I'm OK with that. But that being said, when this season ends and if my arm feels really good -- and it feels really good right now -- we'll sit down as a family. I'll look at my kids and say, 'Do you want daddy to play again?' Like every player, it's a family thing. But it really is a family thing for me." This is Eyre's 13th season in the Majors. "I'm sorry, but a little kid from Salt Lake City, I never ever imagined I'd have this much time in the Majors," Eyre said. Eyre just hopes that if he does have a 14th year in the Majors, it is on his own terms.

Scott Eyre has had his assets frozen by federal regulators as the government investigates the Stanford Financial Group and an alleged $8 billion fraud

Scott Eyre has had more on his mind this spring than just baseball. Eyre, like many Americans, has found himself a victim of a massive finan...

Several buyers in a $75 million Cheatham County condominium project are suing to get their earnest money returned

Nine buyers in the Braxton Condominiums at Harpeth Shoals Marina, a luxury condominium near the banks of the Cumberland River in Ashland City, have filed suit claiming the development company breached their contracts by missing a key deadline and failing to deliver a promised commercial component.Several buyers in a $75 million Cheatham County condominium project are suing to get their earnest money returned, saying the developer failed to live up to promises made about the project.The suit, which asks that plaintiffs be refunded $399,500 in deposits, is one of two that has been filed by Braxton buyers. A similar claim was made last month in Cheatham County Chancery Court.The disputes are the latest sign of litigation in connection with the recent condo boom and a later slowdown in sales. Last week, several contract holders in a Midtown condominium, the Bristol West End, were told they could face court proceedings if they don't pay for not living up to their purchase agreements.Bristol wants tens of thousands of dollars from several people who backed out of purchase contracts. The developer wants to be compensated for money the firm says it lost when it had to resell units to new buyers at lower prices.The Braxton condo suits center on the pace of construction of two 10-story residential buildings and a neighboring marina.Both suits say The Braxton LLC, a private partnership formed to build the project, failed to meet an Aug. 4, 2008, construction deadline in purchase agreements. The plaintiffs, a group of nine Middle Tennessee residents living in Davidson, Williamson and DeKalb counties, also say Braxton did not follow through on a promise to build a commercial component that was supposed to include a restaurant, retail shops and marina services."There's no apparent evidence that they're ever going to start construction," said Phillip Jones, the group's attorney. "The project on the ground is clearly different." The latest suit comes on the heels of legal action late last month by a buyer from Ashland City seeking the return of $174,286. The money represents the buyer's deposit for a unit on the Braxton's 10th floor and fees for a slip in the marina. Benjamin Perry, the Ashland City attorney who filed that suit, could not be reached for comment.Both suits come after the project's lead developer, Nashville resident John T. Rankin, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in November. That case centered on Rankin's personal debts from another Cheatham County development, but the proceedings nonetheless prevented the Braxton's buyers from pursuing their claims, Jones said.Since then, management of Braxton LLC has passed to Charles A. Elcan, a Nashville executive who has worked in the health-care and real estate industry, property records filed in Cheatham County show. Elcan did not return a message left at his home Monday evening.Complicating the suit were several liens filed against the Braxton property in the fall. Property records show that builder T.W. Frierson and other contractors were owed more than $3.9 million last fall for work performed on the condos. Most of those liens have been settled.Meanwhile, contracts on four units in the Braxton have closed, property records show. Two units were transferred to Community Bank & Trust, a project lender that held a $995,000 promissory note signed by Rankin and his wife.An Ashland City attorney and a real estate agent selling units in the building closed on the other two units.

Several buyers in a $75 million Cheatham County condominium project are suing to get their earnest money returned

Nine buyers in the Braxton Condominiums at Harpeth Shoals Marina, a luxury condominium near the banks of the Cumberland River in Ashland Cit...

Former University of Nebraska Regent David Hergert has been charged with 18 counts of bank fraud

Former University of Nebraska Regent David Hergert has been charged with 18 counts of bank fraud, marking the latest episode in a string of ...

Shashi Bacheta who amassed almost £50,000 in state benefits claiming she was depressed and bedridden with a bad back was regularly scuba diving

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_IfhfaQE_cvckhmaNyo-UE9aKCgoaSgSGMy7Ejx-3UDxqYzR4_hFcwJHlL9ESqt6GqjF8wO0trh0wEa0LWoXsjAyNOAoTaCJkuppFzQ01whtK1pwN4PloWfAnrwKNYNDetLdMeJoAnBT/s1600-h/kismet.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306312652401473650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_IfhfaQE_cvckhmaNyo-UE9aKCgoaSgSGMy7Ejx-3UDxqYzR4_hFcwJHlL9ESqt6GqjF8wO0trh0wEa0LWoXsjAyNOAoTaCJkuppFzQ01whtK1pwN4PloWfAnrwKNYNDetLdMeJoAnBT/s400/kismet.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 199px;" /></a> Shashi Bacheta who amassed almost £50,000 in state benefits claiming she was depressed and bedridden with a bad back was in fact regularly scuba diving off Africa from her boyfriend’s £100,000 yacht.Shashi Bacheta told the authorities she was jobless, felt “like a social outcast” and needed “24-hour care” because she lived alone, was unable to get out of bed and suffered depression.But yesterday the 52-year-old was warned she faces jail after it emerged she was actually managing a post office, living with her partner and sailing thousands of miles around the world to Kenya, South Africa and Tenerife on his yacht Kismet.The mother of one, from Fforestfach, Swansea, was caught when investigators tracked down the yacht on a blog and found a picture of her lounging on a deck with lover Jeffrey Cole.She falsely claimed disability living allowance, income support and incapacity benefit for six years between 2002 and 2008. She received £49,700 in total, according to the Department of Work and Pensions, which, with Swansea Council, began investigating her claims two years ago. Fraud investigators found that – far from being unemployed – Bacheta worked as a manager at the Rheidol Avenue Post Office in Clase, near Swansea’s DVLA.They also found that she was not living on her own in various flats, for which she was claiming housing benefit, across the city. She was in fact living with her 58-year-old partner at his spacious home at Gower Road in Swansea’s upmarket Sketty district.Cole, who formerly worked in the shop-fitting business and who owned three properties in Swansea, was the Postmaster at the Rheidol Avenue Post Office with Bacheta acting as his manager.Suspicions were aroused about the lifestyle of Bacheta, who was seen going to the Swansea Yacht and Sub Aqua Club with Cole. Nobody there realised she was claiming benefits and that Cole was helping her.Jeff Fish, a Swansea Council fraud investigator, decided to trawl the internet for references to Cole’s bought-from-new £100,000 – Beneteau-make yacht Kismet. He encountered a blog being written by a retired South Wales policewoman and her husband while aboard their yacht.The couple, on a round- the-world trip, had no idea Cole and Bacheta were benefit fraudsters. They met them off Gran Canaria and mentioned Kismet’s name on the blog.Mr Fish said: “We also downloaded a picture of them at the couple’s yacht on Gran Canaria with Shashi Bacheta looking quite well.“We later carried out a search of their home and found PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructor) records relating to Bacheta scuba diving off Mombasa, Kenya.“We also found they had been in their yacht off the coast of South Africa.”Bacheta and Cole were due to begin an expensive 15-day trial at Swansea Crown Court yesterday. But they changed their pleas at the last minute to guilty to a variety of benefit fraud charges.Cole admitted four charges including false accounting over council tax benefit and housing benefit plus dishonestly obtaining bank credits, all in relation to Bacheta’s false claims.Bacheta pleaded guilty to 16 charges including fraud, false accounting, obtaining benefits by deception and obtaining money transfers by deception.Afterwards, the DWP said Bacheta’s daughter, 28-year-old Anju Bacheta, had already pleaded guilty to fraud relating to her telling the authorities she worked 35 hours per week as her mother’s carer, when she did not.The judge adjourned sentence yesterday for three weeks to allow reports into the defendants’ backgrounds to be drawn up and he granted them bail on condition their surrendered their passports.But Judge Huw Davies warned Cole and Shashi Bacheta (Anju Bacheta was not present in court) that “indicative guidelines” suggested a custodial sentence. Francis Jones, for Cole, told the court his client may apply for leave to travel to Spain to oversee the sale of his yacht for which a buyer had been found.Melanie Surridge, officer in charge of the joint Swansea Council and DWP investigation, said: “It’s quite staggering that this lady claimed to be bedridden yet was regularly on her partner’s yacht and able to partake in active sports like scuba diving.

Shashi Bacheta who amassed almost £50,000 in state benefits claiming she was depressed and bedridden with a bad back was regularly scuba diving

Shashi Bacheta who amassed almost £50,000 in state benefits claiming she was depressed and bedridden with a bad back was in fact regularly s...

Ian Thow, 48, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Oregon Fugitive Task Force

Ian Thow, 48, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Oregon Fugitive Task Force this week as he exited a condominium to go jogging. His initial court appearance Wednesday featured 90 minutes of legal sparring between his court-appointed attorney and an assistant U.S. attorney.At the end, a federal judge ordered a second hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday.The judge will decide whether to transfer Thow to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for an extradition hearing or to have him stay in Portland for that hearing and surrender to Canadian authorities.Thow, through attorney Patrick Ehlers, offered to have his children drive him to the border to surrender to Canadian authorities, The Oregonian newspaper reported.The judge declined that option.The fugitive was wanted by Interpol and Canadian law enforcement on accusations of financial fraud that totaled more than $6 million and could be as much as $32 million.The U.S. citizen is the former vice president with the Berkshire investment firm in Victoria, B.C. From December 2003 to September 2005, he allegedly got people to invest in securities that did not exist and then put the money in his personal account, fueling a lavish lifestyle.He disappeared last summer, shortly after the fraud charges were filed.Washington state officials prepared a provisional arrest warrant Jan. 6 at the request of Canadian authorities, who thought Thow was living in Seattle.Oregon authorities were contacted when Seattle marshals learned Thow was in Portland.

Ian Thow, 48, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Oregon Fugitive Task Force

Ian Thow, 48, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Oregon Fugitive Task Force this week as he exited a condominium to go jogging. His initial c...

Details from Stanford company websites about his financial empire

<blockquote>Quote from Allen Stanford in magazine "Our world is far different than the world my grandfather lived in when the first Stanford company was founded ... As a company founded in the midst of the Great Depression -- an environment of despair and negativity -- we have a long-proven understanding of how even the most severe downcycles can bring opportunities that yield significant benefits in the long run."</blockquote>Following are details from Stanford company websites about his financial empire, including from a 2008 copy of the group's Stanford Eagle Magazine. In the final section, the information comes from the civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Allen Stanford:Is a fifth-generation Texan and chairman of the Stanford Financial Group of companies that claims clients from 140 countries and assets under management and advisement of $50 billion.His grandfather, Lodis, founded the first Stanford Company during the Great Depression in 1932 in the small central-Texas town of Mexia.Allen Stanford, 58, made his first fortune in real estate in the early 1980s and expanded the family firm into a global wealth management company.He lives in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, and holds dual U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda citizenship. He was the first American to be knighted by Antigua and Barbuda in 2006 to become Sir Allen Stanford. Major Stanford companies and divisions include: Stanford Financial Group Global Management and Stanford Global Advisory LLC, based in St.Croix. Stanford International Bank, headquartered in St. John's, Antigua. Stanford Group Company, based in Houston, Texas, is the companies' North American head office. Stanford Policy Research Group, a Washington-based research team and a Government Affairs Office. Among the financial services Stanford offers: Wealth management, including planning, asset management, brokerage, trust services, insurance and coins and bullion. Institutional services, including research, investment banking, and institutional sales and trading. Support for sports includes: Stanford's own private Twenty20 cricket competition in the Caribbean, including a $20 million game in November between England and his own team made up of West Indian players. Endorsement relationships with Fijian golfer Vijay Singh and England soccer player Michael Owen. Host sponsor of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open tennis event in Biscayne, Florida on March 23-April 5. Sponsors venues at the Houston Polo Club and International Polo Club in Palm Beach, and sponsors the Stanford Charity Polo Day at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. In golf, it sponsors the PGA Tour's Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. Sponsors the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week <blockquote>SEC Complaint says: * Since 1994, Stanford International Bank claims it has never failed to hit investment returns in excess of 10 percent a year. * In 2008, the bank said its "diversified portfolio of investments" lost only 1.3 percent, while the S&P 500 U.S. stocks benchmark declined 39 percent. * SEC says the bank's historical returns are "improbable, if not impossible." * The bank quoted certificate of deposit rates of more than 7 percent during 2005 and 2006, and quoted a 3-year CD at 5.375 percent annual rate in November 2008, against comparable U.S. bank CDs of 3.2 percent. * Did not disclose that its investment portfolio includes a significant portion in illiquid private equity and real estate investments</blockquote>.

Details from Stanford company websites about his financial empire

Quote from Allen Stanford in magazine "Our world is far different than the world my grandfather lived in when the first Stanford compan...

Antigua is reeling from the news that Sir Allen Stanford has been charged over a massive fraud.

Antigua is reeling from the news that its single biggest private investor has been charged over a massive fraud. With off-shore and on-shore banking interests, the Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford was a prominent financial figure not just in Antigua but around the world. But his influence - as an employer, a sponsor, and a banker - could change dramatically as he faces charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over an alleged $8bn (£5.6bn) investment fraud. While the SEC described it as "fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world", some residents of Antigua's capital St John's were coping with the fallout a lot closer to home. People queued outside the Bank of Antigua branches - some to check their deposits were safe, while others were taking no chances and wanted to withdraw all their money. The Bank of Antigua is owned by the Stanford Financial Group, but is not part of the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, nor the Stanford Group or investment advisor Stanford Capital Management - all of which have had their assets frozen.

Antigua is reeling from the news that Sir Allen Stanford has been charged over a massive fraud.

Antigua is reeling from the news that its single biggest private investor has been charged over a massive fraud. With off-shore and on-shore...

U.S. marshals assisting the SEC have been unable to serve Stanford with court orders freezing assets

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjKoZ-6wIB1TIykoEyk_7iJbyr69D3YGog3NwlQv1oafIT68qQlDuS4DSE3UmHYJkI7VyJoPh92v3IIhXGEs2a4Fz7BwvVvKnPNT7t-VMmUhhkhj7BsddZalMmcMn-g30fbqiOc8Nm9Fa/s1600-h/amd_allen.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304289054852856114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjKoZ-6wIB1TIykoEyk_7iJbyr69D3YGog3NwlQv1oafIT68qQlDuS4DSE3UmHYJkI7VyJoPh92v3IIhXGEs2a4Fz7BwvVvKnPNT7t-VMmUhhkhj7BsddZalMmcMn-g30fbqiOc8Nm9Fa/s400/amd_allen.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 347px;" /></a> U.S. marshals assisting the SEC have been unable to serve Stanford with court orders freezing assets and appointing a receiver to run his Stanford Financial Group companies since a raid on his Houston headquarters Tuesday, Garber said.Garber said she was unaware of any warrants for Stanford's arrest and said the SEC was still hoping for his voluntary cooperation on the civil fraud charges."Certainly he is still subject to the court orders. To that extent, we certainly want to ensure that he is served," Garber said. She said two executive who were charged with Stanford, Laura Pendergest-Holt and Jim Davis, had been served.The FBI is in communication with the SEC regarding the Stanford case, FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said. She gave no more details. "The FBI is certainly aware of the SEC investigation, and we have been in contact with the SEC," Dunlap said.The SEC said in court papers disclosed Tuesday that Stanford had failed to appear in recent weeks for testimony ordered by subpoena.

U.S. marshals assisting the SEC have been unable to serve Stanford with court orders freezing assets

U.S. marshals assisting the SEC have been unable to serve Stanford with court orders freezing assets and appointing a receiver to run his St...

Evelyn Rivera had pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to net $18.5 million from fraudulent mortgages

Federal prosecutors say Evelyn Rivera, a licensed title agent and owner of Asset Title LLC, received her sentence on Friday. Rivera had prev...

David Kostelec, Leawood real estate agent who operated under straw entities called Alexandra Enterprises and Hyde Park Development

Leawood real estate agent who operated under straw entities called Alexandra Enterprises and Hyde Park Development will go to federal prison...

family of B. Ramalinga Raju,Indian banks and foreign banks operating in the country have either lent or provided guarantees

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7hluhOwK1OW7GPJl1vhOw9sAaDREr27GHvtIFWe7Tqm8X1F3GTC9jeqaY145rQqgtzQpAeHLJG2fRsteQip2Ehheri_Xv9JxHorlG7xdy0f88AzUFF0Qze1g5F0sOCfm3o92sSJIbzfD/s1600-h/raju.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301536071755693986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7hluhOwK1OW7GPJl1vhOw9sAaDREr27GHvtIFWe7Tqm8X1F3GTC9jeqaY145rQqgtzQpAeHLJG2fRsteQip2Ehheri_Xv9JxHorlG7xdy0f88AzUFF0Qze1g5F0sOCfm3o92sSJIbzfD/s400/raju.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" /></a> Indian banks and foreign banks operating in the country have either lent or provided guarantees of around Rs8,000 crore to various companies promoted by the family of B. Ramalinga Raju, the jailed former chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd. The RBI official did not want to be named as he is not the official spokesperson for the central bank.Capital concern: A file photo of Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju. A group of lenders is gunning for a seat on the board of Maytas Infra Ltd, which is headed by Teja Raju, the eldest son of Ramalinga Raju. Madhu Kapparath / MintMaytas Infra is headed by Teja Raju, eldest son of Ramalinga Raju, who admitted to fiddling with the accounts of the technology services firm he founded. The infrastructure firm has been engulfed by the Satyam mess and lost several contracts since early January.State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank Ltd, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd (HSBC), Citibank NA and HDFC Bank Ltd are the leading bankers to a clutch of firms promoted by the Raju family.“Banks’ total outstanding to Maytas Infra is to the tune of Rs3,500 crore, of which Rs1,500 crore is fund-based. Additionally, banks also have exposure to Maytas Properties and to select small-time investment companies floated by the Raju family,” added RBI official. “These exposures are mainly in the form of guarantees.”The central bank, however, is unlikely to tell the banks it regulates what should be done about these exposures. “We are not giving any advice to the banks on business decisions. Based on their risk appetite, they are free to decide if they want to continue to lend to these entities,” the central banker added.Fund-based exposures are when banks lend cash to companies. Non-fund exposures are credit facilities given by the banks where actual lending is not involved. Guarantees are one form of non-fund banking services, where the bank picks up the tab in case a company defaults on its obligations. “ICICI Bank has the largest exposure to the Raju family promoted firms. This includes both fund-based and non fund-based, including guarantees,” said the RBI official. “State Bank of India has an exposure of about Rs500 crore.” SBI chairman O.P. Bhatt had earlier confirmed in a public statement that his bank has an exposure of around Rs500 crore to Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties. The latter is an unlisted real estate developer.Charudatta Deshpande, spokesperson of ICICI Bank, in an email response said, “We are one of several bankers to Maytas Infrastructure and are reviewing our exposure. We cannot comment on individual lending exposures. We will issue any disclosures if and when we assess that there is an impact that requires such disclosure. We are monitoring our exposure and exploring possible courses of action with other lenders; cannot comment further at this stage.”

family of B. Ramalinga Raju,Indian banks and foreign banks operating in the country have either lent or provided guarantees

Indian banks and foreign banks operating in the country have either lent or provided guarantees of around Rs8,000 crore to various companies...

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday called for the renegotiation of a deal with Liechtenstein on measures to tackle tax fraud

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday called for the renegotiation of a deal with Liechtenstein on measures to tackle tax fraud, seeking guarantees of better access to banks' information.A statement by the council of ministers, meeting in Brussels, said it "strongly invites the (EU) commission to continue negotiations with Liechtenstein," calling for a report from the EU's executive by May.The ministers are seeking "to obtain such change in the text" as to ensure "effective administrative assistance and access to information with regard to all forms of investments, in particular foundations and trusts."Liechtenstein's prime minister resigned after his party suffered shock losses in a general election on Sunday, just months after a tax evasion scandal sparked international criticism of the principality's secretive banking rules.Liechtenstein, wedged between Austria and Switzerland, came under pressure from Germany and other countries last year following investigations into suspected mass tax evasion through accounts in the country.German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for greater transparency in the principality, where investors can use foundations to buy or hold assets anonymously. The principality has reached an agreement with the United States on fighting tax evasion and now EU nations want a similar deal.EU member states "expect Liechtenstein to encompass in the agreement with the European Community and its member states at least a similar scope" of agreement as that "recently agreed with third countries," the finance ministers said in their statement

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday called for the renegotiation of a deal with Liechtenstein on measures to tackle tax fraud

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday called for the renegotiation of a deal with Liechtenstein on measures to tackle tax fraud, seeki...

Hedge-fund manager Grant “Gad” Grieve and two New York investment advisory firms he controlled were sued by U.S. regulators

Hedge-fund manager Grant “Gad” Grieve and two New York investment advisory firms he controlled were sued by U.S. regulators over claims he listed a fictitious auditor while fabricating financial statements. Grieve, who managed Finvest Asset Management LLC and Finvest Fund Management LLC, created two “sham” firms that purportedly vouched for accounting and profits, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today in a complaint at federal court in Manhattan. He raised more than $11 million from U.S. clients since 2004, and began soliciting Europeans last year with “newly fabricated, fraudulent documents,” the SEC said. “He represented to potential investors that he had 54 consecutive months of positive returns, which we found to be highly suspicious” and determined to be false, Scott Friestad, an SEC attorney overseeing its lawsuit, said in an interview. Money managers who report consistent profits amid rising and falling markets are under scrutiny by investors and regulators after Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud. Since Madoff’s arrest Dec. 11, the SEC has announced unrelated lawsuits against at least six people for allegedly inflating profits or siphoning off client money. Grieve, 47, doesn’t yet have an attorney in the lawsuit, according to the SEC. There was no immediate response to e-mails sent to him and his firm, or to a phone number listed for him and Finvest Asset Management. Grieve is a citizen of South Africa and has lived in the U.S. and Israel, according to the SEC. He began managing an investment portfolio for a family office in the mid-1990s. In 2001, he founded Finvest Asset Management, which operates the Primer Fund. Six years later, he started a second investment vehicle, Yankee Fund, through Finvest Fund Management. He gave investors a bogus audit report printed on letterhead for an accounting firm called Kass Roland in Jersey City, New Jersey, according to the SEC. Phone numbers for the firm and its Internet domain name were listed to accounts in his name. No such company has registered with the state or with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the U.S. watchdog for auditors of publicly traded companies, the SEC said. Grieve reportedly disputed an Aug. 8 article in the hedge- fund publication FINalternatives that said Finvest Asset Management may be “going under.” The firm had been unable to reconcile payments to investors in its managed accounts, and employees were working from home or looking for jobs, the article said, citing unidentified people. “I have absolutely no idea from where this originates,” the publication quoted Grieve as saying at the time, noting the firm had recently suffered a power failure that had sent workers home early. “Clearly and categorically I must state that these suggestions are malicious and untrue.” In press releases since then, Grieve said he had left U.S. markets to expand his business in Europe with Finvest offices in cities including Zurich and London, the SEC wrote in its complaint. He said he secured a $300 million “mandate” from a wealthy European investor and was “allocated” about $2.5 billion for private equity investment from the office of an unidentified European family, the regulator said. Last month, he showed a U.S. brokerage statement for the Primer Fund to an institutional investor in Europe, according to the SEC. While the statement listed $118 million in a U.S. trading account for the fund on Dec. 31, the account actually had a negative balance of $65, the agency said.

Hedge-fund manager Grant “Gad” Grieve and two New York investment advisory firms he controlled were sued by U.S. regulators

Hedge-fund manager Grant “Gad” Grieve and two New York investment advisory firms he controlled were sued by U.S. regulators over claims he l...

Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, known for taking on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday

Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, known for taking on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday a...

Gordon Grigg is accused of bilking clients out of at least $6 million.

Federal regulators said Gordon Grigg is accused of bilking clients out of at least $6 million. Investigators said Grigg, who runs ProTrust M...

Venture capitalist William "Boots" Del Biaggio III, 41, of San Jose entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer at a hearing

former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks hockey team pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud for bilking investors of millions of dollars in a series of schemes to help buy a stake in the NHL's Nashville Predators and to pay off gambling debts. Venture capitalist William "Boots" Del Biaggio III, 41, of San Jose entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer at a hearing in San Francisco.Federal prosecutors said Del Biaggio defrauded numerous people to obtain and guarantee loans of about $100 million in connection with various ventures, including the purchase of a $25 million stake in the Predators. Del Biaggio improperly obtained and falsified brokerage account statements to give the appearance that he owned securities that he, in fact, did not own, authorities said. He then transmitted those falsified statements to lenders and pledged the securities as collateral, prosecutors said. In addition to having once owned part of the Sharks, Del Biaggio co-founded San Jose's Heritage Bank of Commerce. Del Biaggio defrauded investors and lenders, using the proceeds to "finance a luxurious lifestyle" and as a "personal checkbook to pay home mortgage and decorating expenses, gambling debts, credit card bills and other personal and unrelated business expenses," the complaint said. Without admitting guilt, Del Biaggio has agreed to a settlement in a separate civil suit filed in December by the Securities and Exchange Commission. A judge is to determine "the amount of ill-gotten gains" and penalties at a later date, the SEC said.

Venture capitalist William "Boots" Del Biaggio III, 41, of San Jose entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer at a hearing

former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks hockey team pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud for bilking investors of millions of dollars...

Donald Green, 49, was sentenced late Wednesday in U.S. District Court to three years in prison and five years of supervised release

Donald Green, 49, was sentenced late Wednesday in U.S. District Court to three years in prison and five years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the investment firm Stillwater Capital Partners and 23 banks. Green also owes the Internal Revenue Service $230,376 for unreported income and capital gains on real estate transactions, the U.S. Attorney’s said.Green pleaded guilty in April to one count each of tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and bank fraud for his role in a mortgage scheme hatched in 2003. He admitted to buying dilapidated houses in distressed Columbus neighborhoods and conspiring to secure inflated appraisals before selling them to “straw buyers” who used falsified information to attain mortgages.The broker accused of helping Green sell the properties, Jonathan Boyd, was convicted in November on wire fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion charges. He awaits sentencing.Sentenced this week in connection with the schemes: George Jordan, 51. Jordan, of Canal Winchester, is set to serve a year and a day in prison, three years of supervised release and 416 hours of community service. He’s required to pay $1.18 million to Netherlands-based ABN Amro. Jordan pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and money laundering last April.The attorney’s office said Jordan, like Green, sold houses at inflated prices, working with co-conspirator Shawn Griffin, 39, to find straw buyers. Griffin, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and money laundering charges, has not been sentenced yet. Aryeh Schottenstein, 35. The Oak Park, Mich., resident was sentenced to 42 months in prison, 416 hours of community service and three years supervised release after pleading guilty to one count each of conspiracy and money laundering. He’s required to pay $3.74 million to financial institutions victimized by the scheme. Green, Jordan and Schottenstein are jointly liable for money owed to the victimized banks and Stillwater, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s office said. Jeffrey Lieberman, 58, is set to serve 16 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty last year to a count each of conspiracy and money laundering. The Bexley resident, who prosecutors say worked with Schottenstein to solicit funds from private investors, has been ordered to pay Stillwater $400,000 in restitution.

Donald Green, 49, was sentenced late Wednesday in U.S. District Court to three years in prison and five years of supervised release

Donald Green, 49, was sentenced late Wednesday in U.S. District Court to three years in prison and five years of supervised release. He also...

Christian Arthur Richards who ran a business arranging swinger parties in Thailand has been arrested by police

British man who ran a business arranging swinger parties in Thailand has been arrested by police.The 54 year old man, Christian Arthur Richards, was arrested at the scene of one such party on Thursday. Police also held six Thais and 16 foreigners found with Richards in a Bangkok hotel.Richards ran a website to arrange and advertise the parties which cost 3,000 baht (circa £60) per person. It is thought that he arranged at least 100 parties in Bangkok and notorious party/sleaze resort Pattaya.Richard's punishment is interesting part of the story, the police are suggesting he will face either "a 10 year jail term or a fine of up to 20,000 baht". Ten years sounds incredibly harsh, for a victimless crime and with no prostitutes were involved. Wouldn't it be ironic if a professional sex party organiser had to spent 10 years eating porridge and taking showers in a Thai slammer?Back to reality, this is Thailand and a fine will most likely be sufficient and, as is often the case, the fine is hardly a deterrent.Given that his parties typically attracted 20-25 'guests', the fine is less than a typical event's earnings (20,000 equates to less than 7 paying customers). As a veteran of more than 100 parties, 20,000 should be well within his reaches rendering the fine is a truly pitiful slap on the wrists. Welcome to Thai justice where money is king and (some) crimes far darker and more sinister than this can be settled with no great punishment or deterrent for future offenders.

Christian Arthur Richards who ran a business arranging swinger parties in Thailand has been arrested by police

British man who ran a business arranging swinger parties in Thailand has been arrested by police.The 54 year old man, Christian Arthur Richa...

Dennis Hunter,captured now faces extradition back to the UK, where he is due to face charges.

Dennis Hunter, 58, hunted in connection with a major VAT fraud, which is thought to have cost the Treasury around £250m.The suspect, who featured in a top ten list of British police's most wanted fugitives, now faces extradition back to the UK, where he is due to face charges.He is accused of being behind a massive 'carousel fraud' operation, which is said to have taken place between May 2001 and August 2003. The crime - also known as Missing Trader Fraud - is costing European Union states billions of pounds a year.It occurs because cross-border transactions within the EU are zero-rated for VAT, allowing crime syndicates to exploit this and pocket millions.They buy goods from one member state, then add on VAT, and sell it on in another European country.The seller then disappears without handing over the VAT to the taxman.A House of Lords EU committee report recently warned that the crime had "risen considerably" in recent years because of the proliferation of high-value, low-weight goods like mobile phones.The UK Government estimates it was swindled out of £4.75bn in 2006 alone.It is not known where in Hungary Budapest-born Hunter was detained.Police had earlier thought he was hiding in the Costa Blanca area around Alicante.Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency issued a description of Hunter last year along with nine other fugitives they thought were in Spain.

Dennis Hunter,captured now faces extradition back to the UK, where he is due to face charges.

Dennis Hunter, 58, hunted in connection with a major VAT fraud, which is thought to have cost the Treasury around £250m.The suspect, who fea...

John A. Yanchek pleaded guilty to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements to a bank in connection with a $82.7 mil commercial loan.

Authorities say a Sarasota, Fla., lawyer has admitted to participating in an $82.7 million mortgage loan scheme that defrauded seven banks.F...

National Bank of Kuwait has fully reimbursed all its clients who lost money in the alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme run by New York broker Bernard Madoff

National Bank of Kuwait has fully reimbursed all its clients who lost money in the alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme run by New York broker Bernard Madoff, banking sources said.NBK paid about $50m to some 20 individuals who invested in Madoff feeder funds through its Swiss bank in December, one NBK executive said.The clients received the principal they initially put into the funds and the gains, said by authorities to be fictitious, they thought they had made. A bank spokesman declined to comment. People close to NBK saw the measure as a way of strengthening its relationships with clients.The move puts pressure on other banks and fund managers whose clients lost money in the alleged fraud."Other banks should similarly acknowledge responsibility for investing their clients' monies in Madoff's fraudulent enterprise, and with the threat of reputational losses and litigation, we would not be surprised to see other banks doing right by their clients," said Mark Gross, of the US-based Pomerantz law firm, which represents European and US clients who lost money to Mr Madoff's operation.NBK had the advantage of having relatively small losses to cover compared with the $7.5bn and $3.2bn lost by the clients of US money managers Fairfield Greenwich and Tremont Group respectively.Santander, the Spanish bank that stands third on the list of reported Madoff losses with about $3.2bn, has offered to cover part of the losses of its private clients who sent money to Mr Madoff's operation through Santander's Optimal hedge fund arm.But Santander's offer covers only the principal invested and is in the form of preference shares, which some investors have argued are worth only 20 per cent of the face value of their original investment. Institutional investors are not included in the offer.People at several other banks with Madoff exposure took pains to distinguish themselves from NBK and Santander, where the investors who have been offered reimbursement were individuals with wealth management or private banking accounts.UBS and HSBC each served as custodians for Madoff feeder funds, and the UniCredit Madoff customers were institutional investors who invested through the Italian bank's Irish unit.

National Bank of Kuwait has fully reimbursed all its clients who lost money in the alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme run by New York broker Bernard Madoff

National Bank of Kuwait has fully reimbursed all its clients who lost money in the alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme run by New York broker Bernard...

Feeder funds that acted as middlemen between investors and Madoff

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0ZPr9_h7OuAU1oJp8fApZvtt9VjpQeoGT0qe8Ldp8LMf2w-UFDE7QQBC-E5rpnKRsu4_RKw4wWKl4FbYVG5B_Y-pmiVtdkHSZKqCK3c2b2KKmg7Myz4q8RW1PtKy5yvwsVzd6Sp5IFSk/s1600-h/madoff+large.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297826316831483666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0ZPr9_h7OuAU1oJp8fApZvtt9VjpQeoGT0qe8Ldp8LMf2w-UFDE7QQBC-E5rpnKRsu4_RKw4wWKl4FbYVG5B_Y-pmiVtdkHSZKqCK3c2b2KKmg7Myz4q8RW1PtKy5yvwsVzd6Sp5IFSk/s400/madoff+large.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 187px; height: 400px;" /></a> Swiss banker Werner Wolfer, the memory of his first encounter with one of Bernard Madoff's emissaries nine years ago is as clear as the waters of Lake Geneva. To hear Patrick Littaye talk, the Wall Street money manager could walk on those waters. "It was like a religion," Wolfer says of the promise of steady returns, which would be echoed by other acolytes. "These people firmly believed in the story." Littaye was co-founder of New York-based Access International Advisors, one of more than a dozen feeder funds that acted as middlemen between investors and Madoff. Wolfer visited Littaye at his office near the Champs Elysees in Paris in 2000, after becoming chief investment officer at Banque Marcuard Cook in Geneva, to learn more about how Madoff made his money.Banque Marcuard, a private bank catering to the wealthy and now part of Swiss lender St. Galler Kantonalbank, had invested about $50 million of its clients' money directly with Madoff in the mid-1990s on Littaye's recommendation. <blockquote>Banque Marcuard made money with Madoff along with its clients. They paid fees based on the profits Madoff reported, which averaged 11 a year. There was never a losing year, regardless of whether markets went up or down. The proof was in the trading statements sent to clients every month.</blockquote>"It all looked so good," says Wolfer, who has a master's degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen.The truth turned out to be something else — and far more complex than a criminal masterminding a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that bilked investors from Palm Beach to Paris, as Madoff allegedly confessed to doing Dec. 11.If the 70-year-old money manager was running a con, then his marketers like Access International, wittingly or not, were part of the scam.The purported mission of such feeder funds was to vet hedge funds for wealthy clients. Instead, the line between victim and perpetrator was blurred. Middlemen like Littaye funneled billions of dollars to Madoff, even when they suspected he was engaged in questionable trading practices. In return, they reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in client fees.Wolfer says he heard of traders trying to replicate the split-strike conversion strategy Madoff told investors he used — buying shares of large U.S. companies and entering into options contracts to limit the risk — and getting far lower returns. He also says he heard Littaye and other middlemen talk about how Madoff may have used the knowledge he gained from his market-making firm, New York-based Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, to get in and out of stocks ahead of market swings.That's front-running, a term usually applied to brokers' trading for their own account — and profit — ahead of clients.It's also applicable to Madoff's purported practice, says Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a former federal prosecutor."Front-running isn't who's getting the benefit; it's who's paying the price," says Henning, noting that Madoff's market-making customers expected the firm to obtain the best price available when buying or selling stocks. Instead, their interests were apparently subordinated to those of Madoff's investment clients.While front-running is illegal, it didn't horrify Madoff's champions."They were convinced that the risk was only that the Securities and Exchange Commission would do something about breaches of the Chinese wall in the Madoff organization," Wolfer says. In the worst case, he says, "What could be expected was that at a certain point the SEC could say stop."Wolfer, who says he doesn't speak for his former employer, now manages a fund of funds at Geneva-based Banque SCS Alliance, which invested in another Madoff feeder fund, Fairfield Sentry. He says he handled the risk that Madoff might be front-running by sharing this suspicion with clients who put money into the fund."With every year passing, the worries were a little bit less," Wolfer says.Other money managers made similar winks and nods about Madoff's advantage, according to people who were pitched the funds. One Swiss bank, Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privee, which had $700 million invested with Madoff, told clients in a Dec. 17, 2008, letter that "in essence, the perceived edge was Madoff's ability to gather and process market-order-flow information to time the implementation of the split-strike option strategy."A spokesman for Union Bancaire Privee says it didn't believe Madoff was engaged in any fraudulent activity. Littaye, who now runs Access by himself and has not been charged with any wrongdoing, says he lost his own savings. His fund had more than $2 billion invested in Madoff.

Feeder funds that acted as middlemen between investors and Madoff

Swiss banker Werner Wolfer, the memory of his first encounter with one of Bernard Madoff's emissaries nine years ago is as clear as the ...

David Murcia Guzmán the Madoff of Colombia

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0RESYiDMU8k0cu5zLWGgHbJumu31GO7h9qM-Nm2kGnTm9ZrBfHu653Y5gcI6I7-9hE_rZ5pJCGTQ-dRWdkOAwOEFkC2UYkDwmpzgzq0sou7Cfe0li1sOf2OGRtBT-niqXwRzoOTWbDri/s1600-h/murcia.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297824652568421586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0RESYiDMU8k0cu5zLWGgHbJumu31GO7h9qM-Nm2kGnTm9ZrBfHu653Y5gcI6I7-9hE_rZ5pJCGTQ-dRWdkOAwOEFkC2UYkDwmpzgzq0sou7Cfe0li1sOf2OGRtBT-niqXwRzoOTWbDri/s320/murcia.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" /></a> David Murcia Guzmán is often disparaged as the Madoff of Colombia, after Bernard L. Madoff, the New York financier accused of creating a $50 billion investment fraud. But to some in the lower classes in one of Latin America’s most stratified of countries, he is a folk hero, and his government-shaking arrest recently was just another example of the extent to which the rich will go to keep the poor in their place.In some ways, the rise and fall of Mr. Murcia, a child of Bogotá’s slums who clawed his way into Colombia’s elite, may be even more exceptional than Mr. Madoff’s. Nowadays, Mr. Murcia ponders the events that delivered him to a cell at La Picota, a prison situated amid the shantytowns of this city’s southern fringe. <blockquote>At 28, Mr. Murcia has been charged with creating a hydra-headed enterprise based in Panama that laundered money and enticed thousands of Colombians into a pyramid scheme known by his own initials, D.M.G.</blockquote> The accusations are common enough in these times of bewildering international financial ruses. But only in Colombia, perhaps, with its history of charismatic outlaws who chafe at the conservative status quo, could Mr. Murcia emerge not as a Madoff-like villain but a folk hero with a legion of followers from coca-growing regions.Mr. Murcia revels in this transformation into an anti-establishment idol. “My only flaw was that I dared to dream,” he said in a meandering interview at La Picota under the gaze of three guards armed with machine guns. “What is criminal about dreaming?” Just a couple of months ago, Mr. Murcia was wining and dining provincial governors. He flew to different cities aboard a private jet. Visitors to his home in Panama marveled at his fleet of exotic cars, including a Ferrari, a Maserati and a Lamborghini. Then it all collapsed as the global financial and economic crisis pinched the markets. Several pyramid schemes in Colombia collapsed in November. The authorities here shut down D.M.G. while the Panamanian police rounded up Mr. Murcia. He was quickly extradited to Colombia, where a prison barber awaited at La Picota to cut off his trademark ponytail. But there was a twist to this Icarus-like story: many of the small investors in D.M.G. saw Mr. Murcia not as a swindler but as their savior and protested his capture in almost a dozen cities. They claim the government’s intervention in D.M.G., not the nature of its activities, caused the loss of their savings. A hunger strike by his most die-hard supporters, who want his release and the reopening of D.M.G., persisted well into January in the colonial heart of Bogotá. “David Murcia was only trying to redistribute the wealth a little in Colombia,” said Norberto Escobar, 47, an impoverished D.M.G. investor from Putumayo, the southern coca-growing department, or province, where Mr. Murcia’s investment schemes first gathered speed about four years ago. “He was simply too much of a threat to the system,” said Mr. Escobar, interviewed recently alongside others clamoring for Mr. Murcia’s release at a hunger strike here. For a visitor, they broke into a chant: “Crea en Dios y en David Murcia” (“Believe in God and in David Murcia”). The mixture of popular outrage and scandal that followed Mr. Murcia’s capture has shaken Colombia. Claims surfaced that D.M.G. tried to curry favor with President Álvaro Uribe’s allies in the Colombian Congress; others said officials moved against Mr. Murcia because his power was coming to rival that of the country’s established banking families. This opened a rare window of dissent in a war-weary society against a president whose success against leftist rebels had shielded him from earlier scandals. A plan by Mr. Uribe’s supporters to let him run for another term unraveled, as the D.M.G. collapse did what no other crisis had done before: make Mr. Uribe, Colombia’s most powerful president in recent memory, tremble. “Not since the time of Pablo Escobar, when he acted like a philanthropist and won popular acclaim, has Colombia seen such an enigmatic and controversial figure as David Murcia Guzmán,” the respected weekly news magazine Semana said.

David Murcia Guzmán the Madoff of Colombia

David Murcia Guzmán is often disparaged as the Madoff of Colombia, after Bernard L. Madoff, the New York financier accused of creating a $50...

Dr. Sushil Sheth faces as long as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine

Federal authorities have charged a cardiologist from the southern Chicago suburbs with bilking Medicare and insurance companies out of more ...

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