Contents: (1) Results of the Invest.; (2) SEC Review of 2000 and 2001 Markopolos Complaints: (3) SEC 2004 OCIE Cause Exam. of Madoff; (4) SEC 2005 NERO Exam. of Madoff; (5) SEC 2006 Invest. of Markopolos Complaint; (6) Effect of Madoff¿s Stature and Reputation on SEC Exam.; (7) Allegations of Conflict of Interest from the Relationship between Eric Swanson and Shana Madoff; (8) Private Entities¿ Due Diligence Efforts Revealed Suspicious Activity about Madoff¿s Operations; (9) Potential Investors Relied upon the Fact That the SEC had Examined and Investigated Madoff in Making Decisions to Invest with Him; (10) Additional Complaints Received by the SEC re: Madoff; (11) Additional Exam. and Inspect. of Madoff¿s Firms by the SEC.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths discuss first-hand how they cracked the Madoff Ponzi scheme No One Would Listen is the thrilling story of how the Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, and his investigative team uncovered Bernie Madoff's scam years before it made headlines, and how they desperately tried to warn the government, the industry, and the financial press. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as well as the world's financial system. The only book to tell the story of Madoff's scam and the SEC's failings by those who saw both first hand Describes how Madoff was enabled by investors and fiduciaries alike Discusses how the SEC missed the red flags raised by Markopolos Despite repeated written and verbal warnings to the SEC by Harry Markopolos, Bernie Madoff was allowed to continue his operations. No One Would Listen paints a vivid portrait of Markopolos and his determined team of financial sleuths, and what impact Madoff's scam will have on financial markets and regulation for decades to come.
The untold story of the Madoff scandal, by one of the first journalists to question his investment practices Despite all the headlines about Bernard Madoff, he is still shrouded in mystery. How did he fool so many smart investors for so long? Who among his family and employees knew the truth? The person best qualified to answer these questions is Erin Arvedlund. In early 2001, she was suspicious of the amazing returns of Madoff's hedge fund. Her subsequent article in Barron's could have prevented a lot of misery, had the SEC followed up. Arvedlund presents a sweeping narrative of Madoff's career-from his youth in Queens, New York, to his early days working for his fatherin- law, and finally to infamy as the world's most notorious swindler. Readers will be fascinated by Arvedlund's portrayal of Madoff, his empire, and all those who never considered that he might be too good to be true.
Based on award-winning reporter Diana Henriques' unprecedented access to Madoff, including extensive correspondence and his first interviews for publication since his arrest, "Bernie Madoff, The Wizard of Lies" is the ultimate true-life financial thriller.
The “greater fool” theory of economics states that it’s possible to make money by buying paper (securities), whether overvalued or not, and later, selling it at a profit because there will always be an even greater fool willing to pay the higher price. Many described in this book profited by peddling such worthless junk to foolish investors. But for some people—Bernie Madoff, Norman Hsu, Sholam Weiss, and “Crazie Eddie” Antar, aka the “Darth Vader of Capitalism”—overvalued securities were not enough. Outright fraud was their way of life. History of Greed is the compelling inside story of the names you know—Charles Ponzi, Baron Rothschild, Lou Pearlman—and the names you don’t—Isaac Le Maire, the world’s first “naked” short-seller. It’s also our story—why we ignore the lessons of the past and fall prey, most every time, to the promise of easy money. For thousands of years, alchemists unsuccessfully tried to turn worthless base metals into gold. Where science failed at turning nothing into something, business succeeded. Sometimes we praise the creators of derivatives, collateral debt obligations, subprime mortgages, credit default swaps, or auction rate securities as Wall Street’s new financial wizards, the creators of “magic paper.” Other times, we vilify and prosecute them as scam artists. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell who is who. History of Greed reveals the inside secrets of how the markets really work, and how scam artists abuse them to gain an unfair edge or to outright steal. It describes how luftgescheft (“air business”), wizardry, dishonesty, and fraud are used to swindle people. Along with a comprehensive bibliography, History of Greed also details: 400 years of financial fraud—from everyday fraud to the odd and unusual Accounting fraud (phantom sales), stock option fraud (backdating), auction rate securities, hedge fund fraud, Ponzi schemes, promotion fraud (pump-and-dump scams), and money laundering How to detect fraudulent schemes How government regulation only fixes yesterday’s problems If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. If they say you can’t lose, you probably will. History of Greed shows that there really is no such thing as a free lunch, while also detailing how not to become the “greater fool.”
Theft of a Nation is a powerful criminological examination of Wall Street's recent financial meltdown. Through the lenses of white collar crime and victimology, the book presents a critical assessment of the economic and political elites who were responsible, shows how Americans were victimized, and assesses the resulting regulation.
Charles Ponzi perpetrated his infamous scheme almost a hundred years ago. But his method of using new investments to pay existing investors and finance a highflying lifestyle is alive and well: just as much money is lost in the United States today from Ponzi schemes as from shoplifting. Somehow, con artists are able to dazzle wealthy, educated individuals and sophisticated institutions and convince them to hand over huge sums of money. How? In The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle, renowned legal scholar Tamar Frankel explores these con artists' fascinating power of persuasion and deception, uncovering the subtle signals that mimic truth and honesty. After years of close study of hundreds of cases, Frankel explains the striking patterns that emerge and the common characteristics of the con artists and their victims. She offers clear yet comprehensive descriptions of the various designs of Ponzi schemers' attractive offers and flags the ways in which they mask their deception through specialized methods of advertising and selling. She then constructs lucid profiles of the con artists and their victims, exposing the core nature of the people at the heart of the schemes and showing how over time the lines between predator and prey are blurred. There are indeed many lessons to learn from these stories, and Frankel brings them to light through the insightful results of her research. She shows how peoples' attitudes are ambivalent and uncertain toward con artists, perhaps because their behavior is so seemingly honest, because they act like the social leaders with whom they are likely to mingle, or perhaps because their actions are thought to shake up a complacent society. Frankel concludes by offering a surprising solution on how to prevent charming, dangerous con artists from perpetuating the enduring, disastrous legacy of Charles Ponzi.
"An impressive, meticulously reported postmortem. . . . The Wizard of Lies is the definitive book on what Madoff did and how he did it." —Bloomberg Businessweek Who was Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? This question has long fascinated people, about the New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion. And in The Wizard of Lies, Diana B. Henriques of the New York Times has written the definitive and bestselling account of the man and his scheme, drawing on unprecedented access and more than one hundred interviews, including Madoff’s first interviews for publication following his arrest. Henriques provides vivid details from the lawsuits and government investigations that explode the myths that have come to surround the story, and in a revised and expanded epilogue, she unravels the latest legal developments. A true-life financial thriller—and now a major HBO film starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer—The Wizard of Lies contrasts Madoff’s remarkable rise on Wall Street with dramatic scenes from his accelerating slide toward self-destruction. It is also the most complete account of the heartbreaking personal disasters and landmark legal battles triggered by Madoff’s downfall—the suicides, business failures, fractured families, shuttered charities—and the clear lessons this timeless scandal offers to Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street.
