Damn, that’s harsh. If you’re thinking about starting a Ponzi scheme, it’s probably not a good idea to forge the signatures of several judges on fake federal court documents. For Scott Rothstein, that move (and the fact that he defrauded some folks) landed him a 50 year sentence today for running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme out of his South Florida law firm office.
“I am truly and deeply sorry for what I have done,” Rothstein said, addressing the court wearing cuffs on his wrists and ankles. “I don’t expect your forgiveness.”
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As previously mentioned, now that the good times are here again, you can buy that $300,000 car you’ve had your eye on without feeling like people are judging you. You know what else you can do? Nay, that you’re obligated to do? Book a stay in a $35,000 per night hotel room. God, that feels so good to be able to say. Of course, no matter how the economy’s doing, there will always be haters who will question what you get for dropping 35 G’s. At the Four Season’s Ty Warner Penthouse, actually quite a bit of bang for your buck. A Maybach or Rolls-Royce (including driver, natch). At least two people devoted solely to the task of making sure your ass touches nothing but the finest of TP. The comfort of knowing no one gets on the cleaning staff without an MBA and CFA. A Venetian silk bedspread, atop a mattress that spontaneously blows you the moment you get in. And light bulbs. Lots of ‘em!
The suite has about 850 light bulbs: Mr. Graziosi keeps about 30 different types on hand for quick replacements. The dark mahogany lacquer bookshelves in the library alone feature about 400 bulbs illuminating a history, art, and biography collection. The $120,000 chandelier over the dinning room table is made of more than 100 tiny fiber optic bulbs. Only four of the 42-person housekeeping staff are allowed to clean the room. They receive two extra weeks of training, says Margie Garay, director of housekeeping at the hotel, learning how use special chemicals that won’t erode the room’s delicate surfaces. “We don’t use Pledge,” she says.
You know what they do use? The Internet, prior to your arrival, so they can see what type of porn you’ve recently downloaded in order make sure you’ve got all your faves. Ass Traffic Volumes 1-8 (9 and on are shit)? The entire TrannyBoy series? It’ll be waiting for you upon check-in. Continue reading »
Charles, in an “undisclosed location,” reporting: Continue reading »
Just go with it for a sec.
Let me ask you people something. If you were going to protest UBS, how might you do it? Stand outside the building chanting “UBS sucks”? Rent a helicopter and dump millions of 10-4′s on the roof? Smear a bunch of melted Toblerone bars on your shoes and track that shit through the lobby? Sure, if you were an unimaginative fuck, I guess you’d probably go with any one of those. Not Bauer Klemenz Marti. This UBS client wanted to think bigger. And weirder. More outside the box. He wanted people to say “This guy is fit for a straight jacket, we better listen to him.” Which is why after several months of threats and promises to do something about the unsatisfactory way in which he felt his money was being managed, he finally did it. This morning, he tied his pet bull to one of the bank’s branches in Grenchen and stayed there until 5:00PM. To send a message. Continue reading »
Was that wrong? Should he not have done that?
Under questioning by Judge Dominique Pauthe, Kerviel said he began making larger bets in 2005 and started falsifying transactions indicating he had covered his bets. Kerviel said he continued to exceed the 125 million-euro trading limit set for the Delta One trading desk where he worked in the years after 2005. “Seventy percent of the time, limits were exceeded,” Kerviel said when a prosecutor said he was the only one who exceeded limits. He said that the controls on his computer were “deactivated,” allowing him to fake transactions. The head of his trading desk knew as early as April 2007 that Kerviel was making fictitious transactions, Kerviel said.
NEW YORK – The FBI says it’s raided a Manhattan boiler room brokerage with links to the mob.
Agents arrested several people Wednesday at an office building on West 36th Street. The FBI said one of the suspects was a member of the Bonanno organized crime family.
Authorities said the illicit brokerage was artificially inflating the value of a stock in a company with misleading sales pitches.
The suspects were expected to appear in court later Wednesday.
FBI Raids Boiler Room Brokerage [FoxNY]
FBI Raids ‘Boiler Room’ Stock Promotion Operation [Bloomberg]
Attorneys for Raj Rajaratnam have filed a brief to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to reverse an order compelling them to turn over wiretap evidence to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Galleon civil case.
The SEC wants the FBI’s wiretap evidence to bolster its civil suit against Raj and the other defendants but, the defendants are resisting, in part, because they say it was obtained illegally and are trying to suppress the evidence in the criminal case. Continue reading »
