ponzi-schemes

(frankieleon)

Madoff Victims Will Start Getting Refunds This Week
By Phil Villarreal on October 5, 2011 9:15 AM   16 Comments
Those who lost money investing with jailed shyster Bernie Madoff will be getting some of their ill-advised expenditures back this week, thanks to the bankruptcy court-mandated liquidation of his estate. More »

(fyunkie)

US Accuses Full Tilt Poker Of Being Global Ponzi Scheme
By Ben Popken on September 21, 2011 11:30 AM   51 Comments
Looks like Full Tilt Poker just went bust. The Department of Justice has accused the site's proprietors of operating a "global Ponzi scheme" in which the owners got paid with money they told players was being safely held. More »

(vic15)

The Amish Bernie Madoff
By Ben Popken on September 19, 2011 10:00 AM   26 Comments
It seems you don't need electricity to commit fraud. A man has been likened to being "The Amish Bernie Madoff" after he was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 2,700 Amish families, nonprofits and businesses out of $16.8 million. More »

(Abode of Chaos)

Judge Tells Madoff Investors They Won't Get All Their Fake Money Back
By Ben Popken on August 16, 2011 3:00 PM   40 Comments
A federal judge shot down an appeal from Madoff investors who didn't just want the money they'd invested back, they wanted the amount of money Madoff said they were worth on paper. The judge said that Madoff's financial statements were "fictitious" and thus can't be used as a basis for claims by investors. More »

(largeprime)

Man Convicted Of Running $100 Million Ponzi Scheme Sentenced To 10 Years
By Phil Villarreal on May 17, 2011 10:15 AM   41 Comments
A Connecticut man was convicted of tricking investors out of $30 million in a Ponzi scheme that involved a total of $100 million in cash exchanged in an elaborate ruse was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Once he gets out, he'll have to pay $500 a month in restitution, although the actual figure will be based on what he can afford. More »

(razor512)

Madoff: Chase Execs Were Aware Of Ponzi Scheme
By Chris Morran on April 8, 2011 2:15 PM   22 Comments
Despite evidence to the contrary, the folks at JPMorgan Chase have denied knowing anything at all about Bernie Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. But in a new interview, the scam artist says that senior Chase execs weren't exactly in the dark about what he was doing. More »

(thoth1618)

Lawsuit: Mets Owners Made $300 Million In "Fictitious Profits" From Madoff Ponzi Scheme
By Chris Morran on February 4, 2011 2:48 PM   20 Comments
Since the 2008 revelation that Bernie Madoff's wildly profitable investment business was all just smoke and mirrors, the owners of the New York Mets have claimed they were one of the victims of the Ponzi scheme. However, a newly unsealed lawsuit says that the Mets owners not only ignored warnings that Madoff was too good to be true, but that they made hundreds of millions off the scheme. More »

Documents Show Chase Doubted Madoff But Did Business With Him Anyway
By Chris Morran on February 3, 2011 3:26 PM   40 Comments
Newly released documents reveal that executives at JPMorgan Chase were aware of the possible Ponzi-ness of Bernie Madoff's investment business more than 18 months before it was revealed to be a mammoth scam. More »

Billionaire Widow Gives $7.2 Billion Back To Madoff Victims
By Chris Morran on December 17, 2010 2:28 PM   40 Comments
Victims of douchebag-supreme Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme are getting an early Christmas present. The widow of one of Madoff's biggest beneficiaries has agreed to return $7.2 billion in proceeds to those who were defrauded. More »

(Steve O's Photos)

Read The Suicide Note Of A Ponzi Schemer
By Ben Popken on October 27, 2010 2:15 PM   81 Comments
"For decades I've felt trapped, like, someone who has had a stroke who can think on the inside, but cannot communicate on the outside. ... I feel like I have disappeared long ago. ... So here is the story. My secret life of terrible crime." So begins the suicide note of Robert Markman, whose 20-year Ponzi scheme was only discovered after he shot himself. More »

Madoff Bragged That He Gave Away $9B To Friends Before Being Arrested
By Meg Marco on June 21, 2010 2:45 PM   25 Comments
The NY Post says that a fellow inmate of Bernie Madoff told them that the ponzi-schemer bragged about giving away $9 billion to three people before he was caught. More »

(janeyhenning)

10 Warning Signs Of An Investment Scam
By Chris Morran on June 8, 2010 2:15 PM   29 Comments
Any one of us would love to be able to take what little money we have left after paying for our homes, food, family and clothing and invest in something that is guaranteed to turn a healthy profit in a short period of time with little risk. Only problem is, those situations are often scams that will have you worse off than you were when you began. More »

(Frankie Leon)

Miami Businessman Charged With Running $900 Million Ponzi Scheme
By Chris Morran on April 21, 2010 12:25 PM   20 Comments
It's not exactly Bernie Madoff's $65 billion, but the Securities And Exchange Commission has charged a Florida businessman with operating a $900 million Ponzi scheme, telling people they were investing — risk-free and at interest rates upward of 26% — in his grocery business, when in fact he was just using the money to fund his lavish lifestyle. More »

Madoff Gets S*** Kicked Out Of Him In Prison
By Ben Popken on March 18, 2010 7:01 PM   189 Comments
A fellow inmate at Butner federal prison brutually fulfilled the fantasy of millions by brutally beating the piss out of ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, reports WSJ. More »

(Not Stephanie Madoff)

Bernie Madoff's Daughter-In-Law No Longer Wants To Be A Madoff
By Chris Morran on February 25, 2010 2:54 PM   32 Comments
What's in a name? Just ask Stephanie Madoff, daughter-in-law to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. Seems like Stephanie is finding that the surname she took when she wed Bernie's boy Mark isn't just a badge of shame — it's also a threat to her life. That's why she has petitioned a Manhattan court for a name change. More »

Madoff Victims Receive First Repayment Of $534 Million
By Chris Walters on October 28, 2009 7:52 PM   12 Comments

—>The trustee who's liquidating Bernie Madoff's firm has released $534.2 million in repayments to some of his victims, reports Bloomberg. The half-billion is a drop in the bucket of total verified losses, which are now more than $21 billion. But hey, those 1,558 victims whose claims were approved for this partial payout are probaby pretty happy—which is more than you can say for the 2,500+ Madoff customers who may be sued to return fake profits.  More »

ATM Ponzi Scheme Was $80 Million Cash Machine For Fraudsters
By consumerist.com on September 21, 2009 11:29 PM   21 Comments

—>Every Ponzi scheme has to have a gimmick; something to convince marks that they're investing in a legitimate enterprise, even when they're being bilked of every last cent. For Bernie Madoff, it was an investment fund that offered ridiculously steady returns. For Vance Moore II and Walter Netschi it was ATMs, an incredibly prosaic setup that managed to siphon $80 million from investors who believed they were putting their money into cash machines. The only cash machine, of course, was the fund itself, which Moore and Netschi allegedly operated from 2005 to 2008.  More »

There's A New Ponzi Schemer Under Arrest, And He Has A Mail Order Porn Business
By Chris Walters on September 9, 2009 1:16 PM   26 Comments

—>The smaller versions of Madoff are still out there, convincing people to hand over their savings for foolproof investments that don't actually exist, but every once in a while the authorities nab another one. This week it's Philip G. Barry, a Brooklyn-based guy who operated out of my own neighborhood and happened to run a pornography business.  More »

Madoff Gives First Prison Interview To Victims' Lawyers
By Laura Northrup on July 29, 2009 12:00 PM   35 Comments

—>Bernie Madoff has given his first prison interview...to attorneys representing his victims. Highlights: He's quite candid now (what has he got to lose?), he can't believe that he got away with running an epic Ponzi scheme for as long as he did, and apparently he's been working out.   More »

Faith-Based Fraud Powered Georgia Ponzi Scheme
By Phil Villarreal on July 15, 2009 1:30 PM   112 Comments

—>Relying on a get-rich-quick foreign currency investment pitch anointed with a Christian spin, Georgian E.A. Gresham hit up 75 marks for $15 million. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission took the mini Madoff to federal court in a civil suit filed last week.   More »