Ponzi scheme

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Venezuela Seizes Stanford Bank, Calls It Healthy

Country provided up to 30% of group's funds

(Newser) - Venezuela has taken control of a bank run by alleged fraudster R. Allen Stanford and his Stanford International Group, the New York Times reports. A banking regulator said the retail bank is essentially healthy, but Venezuelans are still fretting. “When Venezuelan forces say nothing is wrong,” explained one...

Stanford May Have Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel

FBI money laundering probe predated SEC swoop on financier

(Newser) - Fugitive financier R. Allen Stanford was under investigation over possible ties to a Mexican drug cartel long before the SEC swooped in on his firm, federal authorities tell ABC News. The FBI and other agencies began probing Stanford on suspicion of money laundering a year ago, after Mexican authorities detained...

SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs
SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs
Feb 19, 2009 5:24 AM CST

SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs

Minor fines levied for violations that should have been red flags

(Newser) - Years of SEC probes into the Stanford Group's finances resulted in wrist-slaps for violations that experts believe should have been huge red flags for investigators, the New York Times reports. The firm, suspected of engaging in an $8 billion fraud, paid out just $60,000 in the past 2 years...

Antigua, Stanford's Banking Base, Braces

Account holders line up to withdraw money, despite assurances from PM

(Newser) - The SEC's allegations of fraud against R. Allen Stanford prompted concern on the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua, the base of the financier's bank. Despite reassurances from the prime minister, customers lined up at both branches of the Bank of Antigua to make withdrawals yesterday. Some seemed to emerge with...

Stanford Spent Millions to Lobby Congress

$8B scammer's island junkets helped push anti-tax agenda

(Newser) - Billionaire R. Allen Stanford has spent millions of dollars in attempting to enlist high-powered Washington officials in his anti-tax efforts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Stanford’s investment companies spent over $5 million on lobbying, $2 million on campaign contributions, and thousands more on flying members of Congress to the...

Lawyer Bolted From Stanford, Sparking $8B SEC Action

Attorney 'disaffirmed' earlier statements

(Newser) - A Washington attorney who represented R. Allen Stanford’s Antigua-based bank quit his post and recanted testimony to investigators last week, sparking the SEC’s public accusations of “massive, ongoing fraud,” Bloomberg reports. Stanford is suspected of misrepresenting the safety of $8 billion invested with his various financial...

Who Is Sir Allen Stanford (Other Than $8B Scammer)?

(Newser) - Alleged fraudster R. Allen Stanford may not have been a household name before the SEC accused him of skullduggery yesterday, but not because he’s been keeping a low profile. Calling himself “Sir” Allen Stanford ever since he was knighted in Antigua in 2006, the colorful financier is the...

Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart
Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart
OPINION
Feb 18, 2009 1:48 AM CST

Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart

SEC has slim chance of finding Stanford, missing stash

(Newser) - Financier Robert Allen Stanford is now a fugitive and SEC officials don't look any likelier to get their man than his investors do to get their money back, Felix Salmon writes in Portfolio. Regulators have been sniffing around his operations for long enough to ensure he's got a contingency plan...

'Smash-Me Bernie' a Hit at Toy Fair

(Newser) - He may have crushed your savings—but for $99.95 more you can stomp on him, reports the New York Times. The hot ticket at this year's American International Toy Fair is "Smash-Me Bernie," a mini-Madoff dressed in a red devil suit that you can bludgeon with an...

SEC Accuses Texas Firm of 'Massive Fraud'

$8B missing, bank barring withdrawals from offshore accounts

(Newser) - The SEC today accused Robert Allen Stanford, head honcho of Stanford Financial group, of running a “massive, ongoing fraud,” and roughly 40 policemen and other law enforcement officials raided the group’s Houston headquarters. The group sold $8 billion in certificates of deposit with abnormally high rates of...

Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds
Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds
Feb 12, 2009 2:23 AM CST

Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds

Medical research set back years as bilked charities slash aid

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme is sending shockwaves deep into the worlds of medicine and science as scammed charitable foundations yank funding for key research projects, reports the Wall Street Journal. Experts believe the number of people affected by the scam's impact on health care could run into the millions....

Madoff's Wife Withdrew $15.5M Days Before Arrest

Deadline for criminal indictment extended 30 days

(Newser) - Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million from a Madoff-related brokerage firm the day before her husband was arrested, according to a complaint filed by Massachusetts’ secretary of state, the Wall Street Journal reports. She also withdrew $5.5 million a few weeks earlier, according to documents from Cohmad Securities, which Bernie...

Madoff OKs Settlement With SEC

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff has partly settled civil accusations against him, a sign he will focus on fighting criminal charges over an alleged Ponzi scheme, the New York Times reports. Madoff's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission stipulates that he will not admit or deny guilt, but cannot dispute SEC charges....

Divorcé Sues Ex in Bid to Share Madoff Losses

Lawyer wants some of ex-wife's millions now that his are worthless

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s scam isn’t just affecting pockets—now it’s poking its nose into personal matters, too. A New York lawyer who says he lost millions to Madoff is suing his ex-wife in a bid to share the pain, the New York Post reports. Steven Simkin paid Laura...

See Full List of Madoff Victims (Sandy Koufax, Too)

(Newser) - Baseball legend Sandy Koufax has joined the list of Bernie Madoff's victims, the New York Post reports. And the Dodger great isn't even the only pitcher: former Met Tim Teuful is an unwelcome teammate. A complete list of victims in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme was made public today after...

Wall Street Journal Ignored Madoff Story 3 Years Ago

(Newser) - Today's testimony from the private fraud investigator in the Bernie Madoff case makes one thing clear, writes business blogger Gary Weiss: The Wall Street Journal blew it. Harry Markopolos said editors of the paper blocked a reporter from investigating the case three years ago. Markopolos didn't know why, but he...

Madoff Whistleblower Slams SEC's 'Financial Illiteracy'

(Newser) - The fraud investigator who tried for a decade to convince the SEC to investigate Bernie Madoff will deride the board's "financial illiteracy" before a Congressional panel today, according to prepared testimony obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Whistleblower Harry Markopolos will also testify that investigating Madoff "posed great...

Madoff Grandkids May Change Name
Madoff Grandkids May Change Name 
Feb 2, 2009 8:57 AM CST

Madoff Grandkids May Change Name

It's not easy being related to a Ponzi schemer

(Newser) - What to do if you’re the innocent grandchild of a Ponzi schemer, feeling the public backlash at your ritzy uptown prep school? Change your name—at least, that’s what the family of Bernie Madoff is considering for his grandkids, the New York Post reports. Good luck, little Madoffs—...

Cache of Madoff Evidence Found in Warehouse

Bernie 'sick' of house arrest in $7M Park Ave. apartment: source

(Newser) - Investigators are going over millions of documents found in a Queens warehouse that may shed light on Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, the New York Daily News reports. The warehouse was used to store records from Madoff Investment Securities, spanning the firm’s decades-long history.

Bank Dumped Madoff Funds— but Didn't Tell Its Clients

JPMorgan beat scam while investors lost out

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase emerged from Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme unscathed, but some of the bank's clients weren't so lucky. For years the bank offered its clients derivatives that were ultimately linked to Madoff, and also put $250 million in those funds. But a joint investigation by the New York Times and...

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