Who is surprised? The records in the Made-off case are so unreliable "There are some assets, but I have no idea what the relationships of the assets available are to the claims against them...."
I'm not remotely surprised. Are you?
Add to this the increasing pressure on the SEC to explain itself, particularly given it had reviewed the firm last year and brought no action...
"Senator Dodd is concerned not only about the people caught up in this reported scheme who may have been misled, but how such a massive fraud could have gone undetected..."
...and you have quite a recipe for an entertaining trial, recrimination and general melee phase.
Comfortable seat? Check.
Popcorn? Check.
Madoff's Records 'Utterly Unreliable,' Says SIPC Head [Bloomberg]
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 2:57PM
uno
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:00PM
All the money is gone. OK. The really shitty part is that he was a bad record keeper.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:03PM
I hear Madoff has a "secret" 10,000 square foot underground lair in the desert filled with champagne, french bordeax, caviar, a private chef, full staff, and a dozen Russian prostitutes. He is on his way there in a yellow cab with a trunk full of cash as we speak.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:05PM
Bernie saw Studio 54 blow up with two sets of books and decided that keeping an accurate reconciliation of fraud for himself might be a risk. Plus, it takes a lot of effort just to do the statements so much easier to take the damn money and let others whine about tracking it on their own time and the tax payers' dime.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:07PM
And a 20,000 gal fishtank packed with gefilte fish.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:08PM
@ 3:
Actually, that was a lie, he only told that to investors to impress them. What he actually has is a broom closet at a Red Roof Inn with a George Foreman grill.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:23PM
Follow the money. What did he spend it on? I have heard nothing about where he spent this stuff. Get on it.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:36PM
I think his totally innocent children that worked with him forever are taking a big chunk... i am sure they had know idea what was going on there until he decided to finally tell them last week...
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:44PM
Think this is bad? Wait until somebody finally cracks the nut that is the DTCC.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 3:52PM
What gives with the DTCC?
DTCC, through its subsidiaries, provides clearing, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments and over-the-counter derivatives. In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with their distribution networks.
DTCC's depository provides custody and asset servicing for 3.5 million securities issues from the United States and 110 other countries and territories, valued at $40 trillion. In 2007, DTCC settled more than $1.86 quadrillion in securities transactions.
DTCC operates through six subsidiaries - each of which serves a specific segment and risk profile within the securities industry:
* National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC)
* The Depository Trust Company (DTC)
* Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC)
* DTCC Deriv/SERV LLC
* DTCC Solutions LLC
* EuroCCP Ltd.
DTCC's joint venture company, Omgeo, has over 6,000 customers in 45 countries and plays a critical role in institutional post-trade processing, acting as a central information management and processing hub for brokers, investment managers and custodian banks.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:01PM
My gut tells me this is all a big misunderstanding...it should work itself out shortly. The situation, however, is fluid - as is my spunk.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:22PM
Here's the deal with the DTCC.
During the last depression, the government pulled a jack move on the people's gold, because it was mostly all in a few central vaults.
During this depression, the government will pull a jack move on the people's securities, because they are mostly all at the DTCC and owned by CEDE & CO.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:39PM
SEC does not understand what goes on at the DTCC, nor does anybody else on the outside. No details of trade clearing available, nor audited by anyone independent. Owned by the banks - exactly who and in what proportion - whose trades they clear? It has allowed likely billions of failed trades, with no accounting forthcoming. The DTCC is another scandal waiting to happen.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:39PM
12 Do you have your tinfoil hat on? Pulling a "jack move" (which is assume means "appropriating") on tons of gold (if in fact that's true) is a lot different than doing the same on a computer full of bits and bites, which is essentially what DTCC is.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:40PM
enough with the popcorn references. it was barely funny the first time, let alone in every other post. time to find some other way to express your interest in watching something.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:43PM
13 Actually, not much happens at DTC: they have a huge ledger, with a column for every member firm. And securities move from one column to the next all day and into the night. Book entries replace physical securities movements. Its that simple.
Posted by guest , Dec 16, 2008 4:55PM
@14, it's kind of true. During the '30s, the Feds banned private ownership of bullion (forcing gold owners to sell to the gov't at a set price). Pretty much all through the Bretton Woods era, there were severe restrictions on gold ownership and transfers throughout the OECD.
In fact, this was pretty much the whole plot of the movie Goldfinger.
Posted by NotNasser , Dec 16, 2008 5:54PM
Hadn't Goldfinger irradiated the world's gold supply or something like that?
Posted by stimpy tec , Dec 16, 2008 7:40PM
Baldfinger!