Buh-bye, Bernie
Evil Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to the maximum 150 years in prison for his multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. Don’t drop the soap.
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Bernie Madoff’s yacht seized by feds
U.S. Marshals seized Bernard Madoff’s yacht from Broward County, Fla.
Don’t cry.
Federal marshals corralled Bernard Madoff’s yacht “Bull” in a south Florida marina Wednesday as part of what is expected to be a series of court-ordered seizures of the disgraced financier’s assets. Barry Golden, a deputy U.S. marshal, said the Fort Lauderdale raid was one of several seizures being carried out under an order from a federal court in New York, where Madoff pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering and perjury earlier this month. “There are other seizures, we believe, going on in New York,” Golden said. The Bull, a 55-foot motor yacht custom-built in 1969, has been berthed at the Roscioli Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale. It is worth about $800,000, said Robert Roscioli, the marina’s owner. – From CNN
$1 Billion in Madoff Assets Located
More than $1 billion in assets from Bernard Madoff’s businesses have been found, a lawyer for the trustee trying to recover money for jilted investors said Monday.
Bernard Madoff Arrives Ahead of Expected Plea
Bernard Madoff arrived at the federal courthouse Thursday morning where the disgraced financier is expected to deliver on his lawyer’s prediction that he will plead guilty to all 11 felony charges brought by prosecutors.
Madoff Will Plead Guilty; Faces Life for Vast Swindle
Bernard L. Madoff is facing life in prison for operating a vast Ponzi scheme that began at least 20 years ago and consumed billions of dollars of other people’s money. – from NYTimes
Madoff Arrives in Court
Bernard Madoff was brought to the courthouse in lower Manhattan early for security reasons, to avoid any confrontations with any investors who might show up for the hearing.
Asshole Madoff negotiating plea deal
Bernard Madoff, the alleged mastermind of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, may be nearing a guilty plea after federal prosecutors filed a notice that they intend to bring new criminal charges against the New York money manager. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt today filed a one-page document in Manhattan federal court indicating the government will file an “information,” or charging document, after Madoff agrees to waive a grand jury indictment. Defendants who agree to plead guilty to an information often first waive indictment. – From Bloomberg
Madoff tipster feared for life, rips SEC
It was simply easier for people to bury their heads in the sand since everyone was so thrilled at how much money they were making. It’s all greed.
Harry Markopolos, a former money manager who sought to convince regulators for nine years that Bernard Madoff was a fraud, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suffers from “investigative ineptitude.” Markopolos told Congress today that he contacted the SEC in 2000 after examining Madoff’s investment strategy and determining in four hours that returns exceeding 10 percent weren’t possible. Markopolos, in almost a decade of communication, said only one SEC staff member understood Madoff’s scheme and “the threat it posed to the public.” – From bloomberg.com
The man who waged a decade-long campaign to alert regulators to problems in the operations of fallen money manager Bernard Madoff says he feared for his physical safety. Harry Markopolos also assailed the Securities and Exchange Commission in his first appearance before Congress. The SEC failed to act despite receiving credible allegations of fraud from Markopolos about Madoff’s operations over a decade. Markopolos told a House hearing that “the SEC is … captive to the industry it regulates and is afraid” to bring big cases against prominent individuals. – From CNBC
Harry Markopolos, a former financial executive who tried to blow the whistle on accused swindler Bernard Madoff, will tell lawmakers he feared for the safety of his family when U.S. securities regulators ignored evidence in the case, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. – From Reuters
Brandeis University to sell its 6,000 art pieces, close museum
Thanks a lot, Bernie. A-hole.
As president of Brandeis University, Jehuda Reinharz has seen the school’s endowment shrink and donations decline. Reinharz discusses the school’s decision to close the Rose Art Museum and sell off much of its collection. – From NPR
Brandeis University students called for a sit-in tomorrow to protest the school’s decision to close a museum and sell 6,000 art pieces. The demonstration will begin at 1 p.m. on the campus in Waltham, Massachusetts, said Rebecca Ulm, a sophomore and art history major. “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy,” she said. “They made a decision without consulting the student body and the faculty.” – From Bloomberg.com
For Brandeis University, the financial damage came fast, and the fallout has cut deep. This fall, the private liberal arts college watched its endowment plummet and its fund-raising drop off sharply, as many of the school’s most reliable and deep-pocketed donors suffered heavy losses in the Bernard Madoff investment scandal. The combination delivered a heavy blow that culminated in Monday’s stunning announcement that Brandeis would close its renowned Rose Art Museum and sell off the 6,000-piece collection. More radical steps are on the table: eliminating staff and faculty positions, expanding enrollment to boost tuition revenue, and overhauling the entire undergraduate curriculum to cut costs and attract prospective applicants. – From Boston.com
Brandeis University, anticipating a budget deficit of more than $10 million over five years, has voted to close its art museum and sell a collection that includes pieces by Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning. The 49-year-old Rose Art Museum will close this year and seek buyers for about 6,000 pieces, said Dennis Nealon, a spokesman for the school. The collection was appraised at about $350 million in 2007 by the university, said Michael Rush, the museum’s director. – From Washington Post
Bernard Madoff Can Remain Free on Bail
Bernard Madoff returned to court in a bulletproof vest Wednesday and won another round in his fight to stay out of jail.
Madoff Back in Court
According to Lawyer, Madoff Will Attend Bail Hearing and May Be Sent to Jail Immediately as Early as This Afternoon; Hearing Starts at 2:30 pm in Manhattan Federal Court.
New Restrictions on Madoff, but No Jail
A judge on Monday allowed Bernard Madoff to remain confined to his Manhattan penthouse, rejecting a bid to jail the disgraced financier but imposing new restrictions to keep him from mailing any more valuables to family and friends.
Congress to Hold Hearing on Bernard Madoff Scandal
The losses in an alleged Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff are still being calculated, but lawmakers will get their first look Monday as they try to understand why the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to discover the scandal.
Madoff Fund Operator De La Villehuchet Found Dead in Suicide
Bastard has the balls the steal people’s money but not face the music.
Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, who ran a fund that invested with Bernard Madoff, was found dead today in his New York office in an apparent suicide, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “Our investigative premise is that it was a suicide,” Kelly said in an interview. De La Villehuchet, 65, was found “with his feet propped up on his desk, a trash pail nearby to collect blood,” and no sign of a second person, Kelly said. – From Bloomberg.com
The founder of an investment fund that lost millions with Bernard Madoff was found dead Tuesday at his Madison Avenue office of a possible suicide, authorities said. Authorities found Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet at 7:50 a.m. with no pulse at his office of Access International Advisors, located on Madison Avenue a couple of blocks from Rockefeller Center. – From AP
SEC Ignored Warnings On $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme Since 1999
Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Tuesday evening that he found it “deeply troubling” that the S.E.C.’s staff had ignored warnings about Bernard L. Madoff’s financial activities for years. Mr. Cox also said that Mr. Madoff, who revealed last week that he was running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, kept several sets of books and false documents at his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and that he had provided false information about his advisory activities to deceive investors and regulators. – From NY Times
The arrest of Bernard Madoff, the financier who allegedly ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, could mark the end of the hedge fund industry as investors know it. Hedge funds have been in a downward spiral for months as the markets have cratered and wealthy investors have pulled some of their money out. Supposedly impregnable portfolios, such as those at Citadel Investment Group, have lost half their value in the past year. Even so, Wall Street stayed optimistic that investors would rescind their pending redemption requests if the markets stabilized, thereby buoying the industry’s fortunes. – From Business Week
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, accused of orchestrating a $50 billion fraud, was placed under house arrest on Wednesday as BNP Paribas became the latest European bank to be sideswiped by the scandal. A federal judge ordered the 70-year-old former pillar of Wall Street confined to his $7 million Manhattan apartment and told Madoff’s wife to surrender her U.S. passport by noon on Thursday. – From Reuters