fraud

  • 15 Mar 2012 at 7:27 PM

Appellate Court Willing to Entertain the Possibility that Citi Was Not Committing Fraud

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I’ve had some fun these last few days proposing counterintuitive theories for why Citi might not suck as much as you probably think it does and it’s nice to see others joining in the pastime, even if this sounds a little far-fetched:

The district court’s logic appears to overlook the possibilities (i) that Citigroup might well not consent to settle on a basis that requires it to admit liability, (ii) that the S.E.C. might fail to win a judgment at trial, and (iii) that Citigroup perhaps did not mislead investors.

That piece of rank conjecture is from the Second Circuit’s opinion on an appeal* of Judge Rakoff’s rejection of the settlement between the SEC and Citi over some mortgage-backed securities. Here’s DealBook: Read more »

  • 15 Apr 2011 at 3:32 PM

Legendary Investor Lenny Dykstra Charged With Fraud, Arrested On “Unrelated Charges” (Update)

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Lenny Dykstra, described by his ex-best friend Jim Cramer as one of “the greats” in the investing industry, has reportedly been charged with with bankruptcy fraud for “selling items from his $18 million California mansion.” Read more »

  • 16 Mar 2011 at 4:03 PM

There’s A Hedge Fund Called Juno Mother Earth Asset Management

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Again, just one of those things I thought you needed to know. Unlike Pappajohn Capital and the Misfit Barbarian Fund, however, this name is now up for grabs, as the firm and its partners have been sued by the SEC. In the likely event they must close up shop, this baby’s yours! Read more »

  • 25 Oct 2010 at 4:01 PM

Southridge Capital Management Founder Charged With Fraud Though He May Not Know It Yet

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This afternoon, Connecticut regulators accused investment adviser Southridge Capital and its chief executive Stephen Hicks of “preparing false financial statements” that “inflated the assets of five funds from 2004 through 2007 so that they could charge higher fees,” in an alleged scam that netted them an ill-gotten $26 million. Additionally, many investors have apparently put in redemption requests as far back as 2001, though none of them have seen a dime. Attorney General said the firm told “lucrative lies” which hurt not only its clients “but also the entire economy.” How is Hicks taking the news? Is he ashamed and/or embarrassed? Is he defiantly calling the charges bogus, telling family and friends he’ll fight them? Is he proud of what he’s done and the alliterative prose he inspired in Blumenthal? Or does have no idea he’s been accused of anything, having only seen a bunch of missed calls on his phone? Read more »

  • 15 Oct 2010 at 2:20 PM

Angelo Mozilo To Pay SEC $67.5 Million For Pesky Little Fraud Charges To Go Away

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As part of the settlement, the regulator agreed to allow the Countrywide founder to drop the money in small denominations from his private jet, over a cattle ranch in Montana, where SEC staffers will have 30 minutes to scurry around picking up every ever last bill,** en route to a much needed visit to Fresno, where Moz likes to pop in every now and then for the ego boosts derived from thinking about how many people he and his associates fucked in town. [CNN Money]

**Gotta let him have a LITTLE fun, given how disproportionately harsh the sentencing was to the crime, which people can hardly even remember.

  • 28 Jul 2010 at 1:55 PM

Hedge Fund Manager/Teddy Bear Collector Pleads Guilty To Running Ponzi Scheme-ish Type Operation

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Remember Paul Greenwood? He didn’t get as much press as some other hedge fund managers running Ponzi schemes, even though he should have, if only for the fact that he spent a good deal of investor money on a 1,348 teddy bears, valued at $3 million in total, showcased in “collector display cabinetry” at the top of a dramatic spiral staircase in his home and kept track of via a spreadsheet that noted specifics like “full-dressed in sailor suit, lavender-tipped mohair coat [and] felt spats. Anyway, he admitted today that he financed this passion via a “sort of” Ponzi scheme. Read more »

  • 26 Jul 2010 at 5:00 PM

Ex-Trader Accused Of Fraud Hoping To Clear Name Via Reality TV Show

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Remember Ross Mandell, the Sky Capital founder who was accused of conspiracy and securities fraud in a scam that was (allegedly!) perpetrated using “boiler room-like tactics,” which could result in him going downtown for 25 years? He’s pretty sure he’s innocent and he’s like to share that innocence with the world. Read more »

  • 13 May 2010 at 3:05 PM

Don’t Freak out Over that Subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Equities Administration

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Apparently the SEC has discovered fraudsters trying to impersonate their own intrepid investigators, using fake email addresses containing .gov in the domain. Most of these characters are fishing around on tranny porn web sites (likely running into real SEC officials) for naive investors who will pay them fees to remove restrictions on sales of stock they own.

Read more »

  • 11 May 2010 at 12:43 PM

Cuomo: Ivy Lied to Clients About Madoff Fraud

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NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just leveled some pretty serious charges against former fund-of-funds firm, Ivy Asset Management.

In a complaint released today, Cuomo says Ivy knew about Bernard Madoff’s giant Ponzi scheme, but intentionally lied to clients because it feared losing over $40 million in fees from the Madoff investments.

Cuomo cites internal emails from Ivy employees joking about Madoff being a fraud even while they were keeping their clients in the dark. Ivy investors, including 76 upstate New York union pension and welfare plans, lost a total of $227 million in Madoff.

The suit also names former Ivy execs Lawrence Simon and Howard Wohl, who Cuomo said “left their clients in the dark” about Madoff even after they had determined they weren’t “satisfied as a fiduciary to invest client assets” with Madoff. Read more »

  • 28 Apr 2010 at 3:07 PM

Germans Raid Deutsche Bank in Carbon Trading Probe

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Environmentalists thought they had found a “market solution” to controlling carbon emissions. Then energy traders have to go screw it all up.

German prosecutors raided Deutsche Bank and RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility, today in a wide-ranging probe of tax-evasion and generally shading dealing in the European carbon emissions market.

Read more »

  • 20 Apr 2010 at 10:45 AM

Michael Douglas Is Ready For The SEC To Wake Up

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The noted investor has finally– finally!– weighed in on the Goldman charges. Read more »