When this story broke I just found it impossible that someone set up something this big to con their own social circle out of millions of dollars. Not that it makes things better for people to lose their life savings when someone is embezzling to cover personal debt and it snowballs. But at least then you could understand why they did it. Madoff looked people in the eye at social functions and at his temple and knew he was screwing them over. He should spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
is when are the regulators who were asleep on the job while he was doing this going to be hit with a civil suit for failing their fiduciary duty, or some such? I cant see criminal cases being filed (tho they should) I was listening to the radio today (in AUSTRALIA mind) where a comment was made that it should have been obvious something was going on, as there were no trades for some of his funds for 10 years!! Ten years? How in Cruise's Unholy Name could that go under the radar???
Stu the crazy bass from down under
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Polar bears for Obama!!
This is what I have learned from what I have read. (Check out Vanity Fair. I think their articles on Madoff are online.)
Part of the business was legit. The illegal stuff was run on a separate floor with little to no interaction between the legit investment banking and the scam operation.
As for the regulators, the SEC are traffic cops, not CSI. As long as all the paperwork was filled out correctly, no red flags would have gone up. Having been through an audit I will say that if any company actually has all the paperwork for their trades filled out neatly and legibly they are probably running a scam. A lot of this stuff is done on the fly and not everything makes it to the proper file. I don't think there's any way that could happen if you are actually running a real trading floor.
That said, there was a guy who tipped off the SEC and they didn't really do a very thorough job so he could have been caught earlier. I suspect this is about like the health department inspections. Of course everything isn't thoroughly inspected because there aren't nearly enough inspectors to do that thorough a job. I doubt that's going to change either.
What you do have to wonder is how so many people could convince themselves that they were legitimately getting 8% when everyone else's funds lost money and it was all a big secret where the money came from and sometimes the numbers were exactly the same for two consecutive quarters. I'm not saying that this justified what Mr Madoff did, but a little less greed and a little bit more skepticism and people wouldn't have allowed themselves to be conned like this.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
Since when do inmates get to choose their prisons?
And how can he afford to hire anyone? He shouldn't be allowed to own anything other than the clothes on his back. Every asset he has should be sold to pay back the people he stole from.
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.
I know the prisoners can request one prison over another, not that it's always granted. But yes one does wonder how he is paying for anything much less a consultant. From what I have heard all his wife does is bitch about not having any money. Boo fucking hoo. Go get a job like the rest of us.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
Yes, I think I read that the poor dear is going to be left with a mere 2.5 million that for some reason or other the government couldn't legally take. How ever will she get by?
They should be at the Madoff homes right now, stripping them down to the bare walls, and selling everything off with every cent going to the investors, starting with the poorest. Nobody else should get any money until the people who were scammed get a reasonable portion back.
If Madoff can afford a consultant, he's still got too much money.
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.
I wouldn't be counting on that 2.5 mil. Surely there will be lawsuits after all this is over. Her only hope is that she is found to have not had anything to do with any of this (in civil court as well) so that there are no liens against future earnings. Welcome to hell, bitch.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
...may have come from a pool of assets that she brought into the marriage. If so, she could have kept those assets separate from the couple's combined assets. And, the 2.5 million may have been the result of investment growth over the years. Since the Feds have yet to charge her with a crime (and would need a conviction, of course), it would be difficult for them to seize that money. But, I believe HT is correct that a civil claim could be made against her by Madoff's victims (and/or idiots), suggesting that she was complicit in the scheme. A finding against her in civil court could occur even if she is never charged or convicted of a crime (a la OJ and Ron Goldman). To be safe, she might want to spend it fast...
over someone's shoulder on the train, so just the first paragraph or so but still...I read that she is not going to be charged. So that will help her, especially if, as you say, she came into the marriage with or made some money of her own and kept that separate. If he loved her at all, there's some money stashed in an offshore account somewhere. We may never know about that one way or the other.
Houndentenor
"Get the trash off the street and back on the stage where it belongs." -- Bette Midler
This message has been edited by Houndentenor on Jul 6, 2009 3:02 PM
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