Thank the heavens the FBI and a receiver are on the case. If the SEC were in charge we would have found assets of -$1.8 billion by this time. Yes, we could be angry. We could be very angry indeed. Fortunately, cooler heads have prevailed, and instead we have begun the slow process of financial fraud recovery. Specifically:
1. We admitted we were powerless over Ponzi schemes and fraud--that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than money could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of unemployment checks as we understood them.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our assets.
5. Admitted to the bank, to ourselves, and to another investor the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have the bankruptcy judge remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him (the judge) to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all creditors we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such creditors wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it to our auditors.
11. Sought through our attorney to improve our conscious contact with Him as we understood Him, pleading only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a financial awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
So, this news seems... well... beneath us. We'd write more, but we have a meeting to go to.
The court-appointed receiver overseeing the financial empire of Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, who is charged with fraudulently selling $8 billion in certificates of deposit, has located $90 million in assets so far, an FBI agent said on Friday.
Stanford receiver finds $90 million in assets: FBI [Reuters]
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:46PM
Is it a bad time to start a ponzi?
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:49PM
Step nine? I HATE step nine.....
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:50PM
meeting? EP do you still work in PE on top of dealbreaker?
Posted by Anal_yst , Feb 27, 2009 3:51PM
Man, it really takes talent to f' up that royally, you really gotta hand it to 'em!
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:51PM
Step 1--cut a hole in the box...
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:52PM
1 - Absolutely not. You can run with it for a long time, and stash your gains with UBS, before being busted. Just be sure to plan your escape well (see EP's guide to becoming a fugitive).
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:55PM
Hey Dylan and Maria - let's stop jerking each other off about GE. Why don't we talk about how they are sucking on the teat of the taxpayer to cut your checks?
Why don't you tell us about Immelt's lack of credibility after he promised the dividend would be safe for all of '09.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:55PM
@2 AWESOME...great episode, especially when James Spader eat's the icecream for teh liquor
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 3:56PM
Going long Monte Carlo banking system
Posted by Equity Private , Feb 27, 2009 3:56PM
"Posted by guest, Feb 27, 2009 3:50PM
meeting? EP do you still work in PE on top of dealbreaker?"
An AA meeting (Asset losers Anonymous). I gambled away all my carry during a drunken binge in Toronto.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:00PM
After step nine we get the promises...fear of financial insecurity will leave us.
It works if you work it
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:01PM
EP - It's beyond awesome that you spoofed Zoraz. I am impressed.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:05PM
Fantastic comments on the WSJ blog.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/27/first-to-be-charged-in-stanford-case-laura-pendergest-holt/
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:07PM
.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:08PM
Fantastic comments on the WSJ blog.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/27/first-to-be-charged-in-stanford-case-laura-pendergest-holt/
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:11PM
@7. Agreed. Immelt sux. We need Stuart Cornfeld, aka Les Grossman, to take over GE.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:13PM
7,143
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:20PM
I'd like to see a ETF that tracks the exposed Ponzi fraud recovery rate. Who do we call to get that set up?
Posted by Anal_yst , Feb 27, 2009 4:22PM
@15/16
Thats one helluva mouth-grill on that broad, she better try to "monetize" that asset if she wants to save her a$$
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:24PM
How long before they kick C, BofA and GM out of the DJIA?
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:24PM
too 12, didn't step.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:31PM
“Laura Pendergest may have had no financial experience, but she is also not unattractive.”
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:36PM
@Anal_yst
Unfortunately they appear to have deleted some of the better posts.
That grill reminds me of another family embroiled in the Ponzi game show.
- Sorry about the double post.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:40PM
@22, not unattractive to a horse, that is.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:44PM
The grill doesn't look as bad in this shot. Very hittable.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29433727
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:52PM
decidedly sub par, given all the hype.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:55PM
@24, @25 - I'd actually hit that prettty hard (with my penis, not a frying pan nor a drug-laced sugar cube). Reminds me of Brooke Balentyne - big mouth, and makes a lot of noise...
Would provide a link but am at work...
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 4:58PM
That grill not bad? Shit I’d hit her semi-retarded fat sister. But that’s only because I don’t have standards. It’s like a disability that leads to a burning sensation when I pee
Posted by Anal_yst , Feb 27, 2009 5:08PM
That CNBC pic just screams "bukakke," at least that's what I'm hearing
Posted by KevinB , Feb 27, 2009 5:14PM
EP - A drunken binge in Toronto?! I live here, and - outside of frat parties, heh, heh - I just don't think that's possible!
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 5:15PM
Sorry, the teeth speak to me, loudly!
http://www.djournal.com/photos/pendrestholtatolemiss.jpg
Why the long face?
Posted by Equity Private , Feb 27, 2009 5:16PM
"EP - A drunken binge in Toronto?! I live here, and - outside of frat parties, heh, heh - I just don't think that's possible!"
Exactly.
Posted by guest , Feb 27, 2009 5:52PM
We, as financiers, love efficiency.
As such, the true measure of the Best Ponzi Scheme is the ratio of assets collected to assets recovered.
In this case, I believe Sir Stanford has bested Dear Madoff for the title of Best Ponzi Scheme. Such title is subject to monthly revisions although it is statistically unlikely that said title will be forfeited.
Posted by Gordon Ghetto , Feb 27, 2009 6:46PM
When I saw this post's headline, I thought it was the number of hedge funds that have turned out to be Ponzi schemes.
Posted by KevinB , Feb 27, 2009 7:11PM
EP - I worship at your feet. Drinks on me next time you're here, but don't come soon - it's frickin' minus 20 C today.
Posted by guest , Mar 01, 2009 9:32PM
works if you work it and keep coming back to the next meeing
So it all comes to the 12 steps in the end. Must have a lot of people with insane ponzi schemes to run this shit.