Ponzi scheme

Stories 181 - 200 | << Prev   Next >>

Stanford Pleads Not Guilty in $7B Ponzi Scheme

Prosecutors call financier flight risk, ask he be held without bail

(Newser) - Financier Robert Allen Stanford and three former associates pleaded not guilty today to federal charges they operated a $7 billion Ponzi scheme out of Antigua, the Houston Chronicle reports. Prosecutors asked the judge not to release Stanford, 59, on bail, saying his wealth, international connections and prospect of a long...

Ruth Madoff Rides Subway
 Ruth Madoff Rides Subway 
Jun 25, 2009 10:35 AM CDT

Ruth Madoff Rides Subway

Ponzi schemer's wife blames paps, of all people, for ruining her life

(Newser) - Ruth Madoff’s life has hit a new low—literally. It's subterranean: The New York Post spotted her on the subway yesterday, seated directly underneath an ad promoting 99-cent cellphones. The disgraced financier's wife, with gray-streaked hair and distinctly unfashionable attire, was not happy with the photographer, asking, “...

At $5B in Profits, One Client May Have Out-Madoffed Madoff

(Newser) - At least one person looks to have benefited more from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff, ProPublica reports. Jeffry Picower, a secretive philanthropist and investor in medical technologies, is on the books as having withdrawn some $5.1 billion in returns from 1995 to 2008, well beyond his...

Madoff Lawyer: 12 Years Is Enough

Sorkin says court must resist 'mob vengeance'

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff’s lawyer says his client shouldn’t be jailed for life for his $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Reuters reports, urging the sentencing judge in a letter not to heed calls from victims for “mob vengeance.” A 12-year sentence would be enough, though 15-20 years wouldn’t...

Stanford Indicted for $7B Ponzi Scheme

(Newser) - Alleged billionaire fraudster Robert Allen Stanford and six of his associates were indicted today on charges that they ran a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the AP reports. Stanford turned himself in to authorities yesterday. “A fair jury will find him not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Stanford’s...

Stanford Surrenders to FBI
 Stanford Surrenders to FBI 
Jun 19, 2009 12:26 AM CDT

Stanford Surrenders to FBI

Alleged fraudster turns himself in after grand jury hands down criminal charges

(Newser) - Sir Robert Allen Stanford turned himself in to authorities soon after criminal charges were filed against him yesterday, the BBC reports. The billionaire financier is now in FBI custody, according to his lawyer. Stanford, whose firm Stanford Financial was shut down by authorities earlier this year, already faces civil charges...

For Ruth Madoff, Prison Is a 2-Story Condo
For Ruth Madoff, Prison Is a 2-Story Condo
ANALYSIS
Jun 13, 2009 2:40 PM CDT

For Ruth Madoff, Prison Is a 2-Story Condo

Disowned by sons, Bernie's wife gets cold shoulder in NYC

(Newser) - Behind every disgraced financier is a disgraced wife, but the public reaction to Ruth Madoff has been especially withering, Lynnley Browning writes in the New York Times. While the wives of other swindlers have reinvented themselves, Mrs. Madoff—scorned by her hairdresser, florist, and sons—has not tried to restore...

Brits Hit Court to Battle Yanks for Madoff Assets

UK liquidators have already seized $235K Aston Martin

(Newser) - The Madoff liquidators are turning on each other, reports the Times of London. The trustees handling the London arm of the Ponzi schemer's imploded business recently seized several American assets, including a $235,000 vintage Aston Martin, that were acquired with London money. UK liquidators will argue tomorrow in a...

Madoff Yanked $165M from London Branch Just Before Bust

Cash transferred to scammer vanished

(Newser) - A month before he came clean on his Ponzi scheme, Bernie Madoff sold $165 million in UK bonds from his London office and the money disappeared, the Independent reports. Madoff ordered a director of the London arm to transfer the money to his New York office so Madoff could use...

Madoff 'Staged the Whole Thing': Secretary

With nerves fraying, Ponzi schemer 'chose to get arrested'

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s secretary thinks he staged his own arrest. “Bernie was never careless,” Eleanor Squillari writes in Vanity Fair. “He set up exactly how he wanted to go down.” Madoff began acting strangely weeks before the arrest, writing odd things in his appointment book. He’...

Hsu Guilty of Squeezing Donors for Campaign Cash

Big Hillary fundraiser faces up to 20 years

(Newser) - Ponzi schemer and Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu has been convicted of campaign finance fraud after two days of jury deliberations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Prosecutors said Hsu had pushed his investors to donate tens of thousands to his chosen political candidates, including Hillary Clinton, between 2004 and 2007. Hsu...

Madoff Money Man Steps Down
 Madoff Money Man Steps Down 
May 19, 2009 10:45 AM CDT

Madoff Money Man Steps Down

Cuomo pushes Merkin out

(Newser) - Thanks to some strong arming from Andrew Cuomo, financier J. Ezra Merkin is stepping down as manager of his hedge fund and placing it into receivership, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cuomo charged Merkin in a civil fraud complaint last month, saying he “betrayed hundreds of investors,” by...

Madoff Clients to Get $100M Back Soon

Funds address fraction of 9,000 claims: trustee

(Newser) - It's a start. Some of Bernie Madoff's clients will get back at least a portion of the money that he stole. Trustee Irving Picard says he expects to approve at least $100 million of investor claims—mere hundreds out of nearly 9,000 filed claims—by May 25, Bloomberg reports....

Stanford Exec Faces First Criminal Charge

Probe of alleged Ponzi scheme nabs chief investment officer

(Newser) - A federal grand jury in Houston yesterday handed up the first criminal indictment in Stanford Financial Group's alleged Ponzi scheme, reports the Houston Chronicle. Chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, 35, faces two counts of obstruction. She and boss Allen Stanford already face accusations in a civil suit by the SEC....

$12B Withdrawn From Madoff Accounts Before Arrest

(Newser) - Operators of so-called feeder funds withdrew $12 billion from Bernie Madoff's accounts in the year before his arrest, nearly half of it in the final three months, reports the New York Times. The analysis of financial records offers hope that defrauded investors will be able to recoup at least some...

Stanford Was a Drug Informant: Report

Fraudster was likely shielded from SEC in 2006 for his trouble

(Newser) - Allen Stanford may have received earlier protection from the SEC by working as a drug trade informant, a BBC investigation has found. The accused fraudster’s bank paid $3.1 million to the DEA a decade ago as a middleman for a Mexican drug lord, and in 2006 an SEC...

'Mini-Madoff' Scammed Churchgoers, Blames Banks

(Newser) - For some, 2009 may be remembered as the year of the Ponzi scheme: Last year, federal regulators prosecuted 13 such scams, but in just the first few months of this year, they’ve already filed 22 cases, reports ABC News. One recent bust is Long Island's Peter Dawson, who stiffed...

Stung by Madoff, SEC Steps Up Pace, Triples Fraud Cases

Embarrassed committee gets aggressive with enforcement

(Newser) - Haunted by the failure to catch Bernie Madoff, the Securities and Exchange Commission is dramatically stepping up its investigation workload, reports the LA Times. Since February, the SEC has frozen the assets of 27 fraud suspects, compared to seven in the same period last year. “The clear message from...

Madoff Victims' Advocate Sues Ezra Merkin

Trustee wants $558M back from feeder-fund withdrawals

(Newser) - The trustee representing investors who lost their savings with Bernie Madoff is suing Ezra Merkin, the feeder-fund manager who withdrew $558 million from Madoff's shop before the collapse of his Ponzi scheme. Irving Picard, who is responsible for winding down Madoff's defunct company, alleges that Merkin should have known from...

Madoff's $100K AmEx Bills Point to Rampant Abuse

Investors' money kept family living luxe

(Newser) - Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff used investors’ money as a “personal piggy bank” to support family, as well as some staff, extravagances, ABC reports. Documents filed in New York bankruptcy court show that Ruth Madoff used the company card to purchase nearly $5,000 of clothing at Paris boutiques last January,...

Stories 181 - 200 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser