From the Daily News:
Alan Fishman, 49, was arrested Thursday night along with Daniel Ledven, 37, of Cresskill, N.J., on securities and wire fraud charges in a scheme that dates back to 2003. A third defendant, Gary Gelman, 39, of Brooklyn, remains on the loose.
Prosecutors say the trio raked in millions by conning victims into believing that A.R. Capital Group, which once had offices at 39 Broadway, was plowing their hard-earned cash into international real estate ventures and leveraged trading.
The swindlers apparently hooked investors with cold calls, doctored statements showing big returns, and fabricated biographies touting their investing experience.
Brooklyn livery cab driver arrested for swindling $20M by masquerading as hedge fund mastermind [Daily News]
(Photo:the idealist)
Is this really a Ponzi scheme? Usually, Ponzi schemes involve robbing Paul to pay Peter (in fact, many Madoff investors MADE money). This just seems like straight up larceny.
]]>@albokay: says the guy who'll never have money to begin with because he's too busy hiding his pennies in a jar in his back yard. how do you figure they deserve to lose their money? they were victims of fraud. i assume Madoff's victims deserved it too? good! take that Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, you greedy bastards!!!
]]>@Bluth_Cornballer: Hi, I'm Ben Bailey and I have a deal for you...
]]>@albokay: he wasn't driving the cab at the time dude. they were still stupid to trust anybody, but at least he wasn't just driving a cab.
]]>How does this stuff still happen to people with google around? It takes two seconds to find out if people are full of truth or lies.
]]>Interesting that Alan Fishman is also the name of the former chair of Independence Bank who was --very briefly -- CEO of WaMu and ended up making $19 million for 17 days' work.
]]>In my smaller city, when you call the phone number to get a cab, you get the same guys that you'd get if you hailed one on the street.
]]>See? Tony Danza wouldn't have had to resort to this if we kept watching his talk show! Angela is going to be SO pissed!
]]>I don't want to split hairs, but a livery car driver is NOT a taxi cab driver. Livery car drivers drive the 'black car' fleets and are hired by calling the company directly. Taxis are hailed directly on the street and their vehicles are yellow in color.
/end of today's transportation lesson. And no, I am not a driver of either mode.
As for the 'victims,' well, maybe they'll end up on the next episode of Livery Car Confessions.
]]>The secret lives of cabbies.
]]>Why are people this stupid. If he was such a mastermind in stocks than why would he be driving a cab?
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