Chidem Kurdas
It would make great satire. David Becker shaped regulatory policy for years as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s general counsel. His “wisdom and careful judgment” was celebrated by SEC Chair Mary Schapiro. Now his conflict of interest as an investor with Bernard Madoff is to be reviewed by Congress and the Justice Department. (more…)
Chidem Kurdas
An appeals court upheld the Madoff trustee’s decision that the former clients of the defunct firm have a claim only to the capital they originally invested, not the profits Madoff fraudulently reported on their accounts. This has precedent from past Ponzi schemes, where investors who took out more than their capital had to return the difference. It’s a reasonable principle not to allow fake profits, though a hardship on people who relied on them, like New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz. The supposed gains, after all, came from other investors’ money.
But there’s something else going on. (more…)
Chidem Kurdas
Hedge funds lose their clients and tend to shut down when they are investigated by government agencies or face civil lawsuits. Raj Rajaratnam’s Galleon Group and Arthur Samberg’s Pequot Capital, accused of abusing inside information, come to mind. Both long-time managers closed shop. (more…)
Chidem Kurdas
Bernard Madoff, it turns out, did a great favor to the US Treasury. All those fake returns he reported for years generated tax liabilities for his clients, who paid the Internal Revenue Service every year. (more…)
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