Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
The SEC decided to take a look at how it failed to uncover the Madoff fraud. The SEC’s Inspector General has been running an investigation and compiling information. The SEC Inspector General, H. David Kotz, released a public version of their report on August 31: Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff’s … Continue reading “The SEC’s Madoff Report”
Frank DiPascali, the finance chief at Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business, pleaded guilty to helping his boss carry out a $65 billion Ponzi scheme. DiPascali pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. DiPascali has been cooperating with prosecutors, explaining how he and others helped Madoff defraud investors by using money from … Continue reading “Ex-Madoff Finance Chief Frank DiPascali Pleads Guilty”
Frank DiPascali, the finance chief at Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business, is being charged with 10 crimes related to his boss’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Nobody thinks Madoff was acting alone in his scheme. They already arrested Madoff’s auditor, David G. Friehling. U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin posted the charges today in a one- page filing … Continue reading “DiPascali to Plead Guilty as Madoff’s Accomplice”
For those of you who missed last night’s airing of “The Madoff Affair” it’s now available online. The program has a startling interview of Michael Bienes, one of the first people to set up a feeder fund for Madoff. Bienes describes those early years as “easy, easy-peasy, like a money machine.” When asked if he … Continue reading “Watch Frontline’s “The Madoff Affair” Online”
The June issue of Vanity Fair continues its coverage of Bernie Madoff. This issue centers around Eleanor Squillari, who spent two decades as Madoff’ private secretary. The article, entitled “Hello, Madoff!,” is accompanied by more than a dozen intimate photos of Madoff and his family from as far back as the 1970s. According to Eleanor … Continue reading ““Hello, Madoff” What the Secretary Saw”
Next month, Frontline is running a report about Bernard Madoff on a PBS station near you. The episode premiers the week of May 12. “Bernard Madoff’s success as a broker made the competition wonder how the man could produce such steady returns in good times and bad. The SEC investigated several times over the last … Continue reading “Coming Attractions – Frontline Reports on Madoff”
They are in the 2009 edition of Topps’ Allen & Ginter series of Trading Cards. The set will consist of 350 cards: 230 baseball players, 30 rookies, 25 historic figures and 15 world champions. It also will include 50 short-printed cards. Among the unusual inclusions to the basic set are Old Faithful (the Yellowstone geyser), … Continue reading “What Do Bernie Madoff, the Loch Ness Monster, and Alex Rodriguez Have In Common?”
In the last six and half years the Securities and Exchange Commission has reached settlements with over 300 defendants in cases related to alleged Ponzi schemes. NERA Consulting has been tracking these SEC settlements since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in July 2002. In that time frame there have been 12 Ponzi scheme settlements that … Continue reading “SEC Settlements in Ponzi Scheme Cases: Putting Madoff and Stanford in Context”
Yesterday, Madoff’s auditor was arrested for falsely stating that the firm had audited the financial statements. No surprise that such a small firm could be auditing a supposedly large investment company like Madoff Investments. Just in time, the AICPA (that’s the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) has expelled Friehling from its membership following an … Continue reading “More on Madoff’s Auditor”
With Madoff in jail, it is time for the rest of his crew of fraudsters to join him. Next up…. David G. Friehling, the sole practitioner at Friehling & Horowitz, CPAs, PC, has been charged with securities fraud, aiding and abetting investment adviser fraud and four counts of filing false audit reports with the Securities … Continue reading “Madoff’s Auditor Arrested”