Filed under: Economy , People , Investing , Media It’s hard to believe, but a year has passed since Bernard Madoff admitted to his sons that his financial empire was built on an elaborate scam. In the ensuing months, Madoff has inspired an ongoing lesson in banking scandals, as the media has reported on his conviction and sentencing, the auction of his possessions and the accusations of his alleged lovers. Ironically, on the first anniversary of history’s biggest Ponzi scheme, yet another massive money scam has come to light. On December 22, 2008, as the country was caught in the first flush of Madoff mania, 32-year old Genadi Yagodayev opened his own investment company, Rockford Funding Group LLC. Located at 80 Broad Street, in New York’s financial district, Rockford claimed to be a “leading private equity firm” with $800 million in investments. Offering “fixed dividend accounts” with returns of up to 21%, Yagodayev used cold calls and his website to attract customers who were receiving structured settlements from personal injury and malpractice suits. Continue reading A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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A year after Madoff, another Ponzi schemer

Filed under: People There was some doubt headed into Saturday’s auction of Bernard Madoff’s belongings. Strong interest was anticipated , though many thought the public was tired of the Madoff saga. The asking prices for his (former) Manhattan and Palm Beach homes had just been cut by 10% and 7%, respectively. Presale estimates were kept to reasonable levels. Simply, everything was priced to move. When the gavel came down for the last time, though, expectations were shattered. The personal effects that once belonged to the architect of the world’s largest Ponzi scheme fetched as much as 20 times the presale estimates. It looks like bidders will always shell out for even small pieces of sordid history . Continue reading The Madoff auction take shows Bernie-mania is hardly waning The Madoff auction take shows Bernie-mania is hardly waning originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: People , Investing For all the people and institutions that lost tens of million of dollars investing with Bernie Madoff, a few had to make money. Someone had to be smart enough to take their gains and call it a day. It turns out that among the more intelligent Madoff investors, or at least the more fortunate, were the owners of The New York Mets baseball team. Several media reports say that filings with the bankruptcy court handling the Madoff matter, by the trustee handling the victim’s claims, show that the Mets Limited Partnership put $523 million into two Madoff accounts and withdrew $571 million. Continue reading NY Mets owners made $48 on Madoff investments NY Mets owners made $48 on Madoff investments originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy , People For candy makers, Halloween is like Christmas and New Year’s Day all rolled into one. Ditto for those who sell masks and other nick-knacks of the spooky holiday. Many companies in the Halloween business are expecting more tricks than treats this year especially with new products such as the “Ponzi” mask that looks suspiciously like swindler Bernie Madoff. Halloween is not immune from the economy. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend $4.75 billion on the spooky holiday, down from $5.77 billion a year ago. People on average are planning on spending $56.31, down from $66.54 last year, according to the NRF. Not surprisingly, an NRF survey found most Americans are planning to celebrate more frugally because they are worried about the economy. Continue reading Despite Bernie Madoff masks, the Halloween business isn’t spooked Despite Bernie Madoff masks, the Halloween business isn’t spooked originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , People , Media In a story that seems designed to give financial pundits a burst of near-apocalyptic joy, the two most scandal-ridden entities of the past year have come together in a brilliant flash of moral turpitude and slick legal wrangling. In one corner, there’s Bernie Madoff, the greatest Ponzi schemer of all time; in the other, there’s AIG, the most irresponsible insurer every to receive a massive government bailout. Standing in the middle are Robert and Harlene Horowitz, Madoff customers who want AIG to eat the $8.5 million that they lost to Big Bern. The Horowitzes’ suit, which was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges that AIG issued them an insurance policy that covered their Madoff investments. At first flush, this lawsuit appears to be a desperate attempt to squeeze a few pennies out of AIG over what must be a misinterpretation. After all, it’s hard to imagine an insurer who would be reckless enough to write a blanket policy, sight-unseen, that protects its holders against all financial scams, with no limitations. Continue reading AIG vs. Madoff clients: Who’s scamming whom? AIG vs. Madoff clients: Who’s scamming whom? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy , People In the course of the Bernie Madoff scandal, one of Warren Buffett’s catchier quotes clamored endlessly through the echo chamber of money media: “When the tide goes out, you learn who’s been swimming naked.” Now, with Madoff sitting in prison and the furor around his stolen billions starting to subside, a few lower-level scammers are jockeying to replace him in the headlines as the new investor with no clothes. The Madoff of the moment is Philip Barry , a Brooklyn-based investment advisor who faces a host of charges for what’s looking like a huge Ponzi scheme. But even as government investigators pore over his records, many of Barry’s customers clearly aren’t ready to give up on him. Continue reading The mini-Madoff of Brooklyn, and the customers who can’t stop trusting him The mini-Madoff of Brooklyn, and the customers who can’t stop trusting him originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy Here’s a good one: Banks that are receiving TARP money are using a portion of that cash to step up the purchases of Treasuries — which in turn is helping hold down interest rates. Bank holdings of government securities are up 15.6 percent from a year ago. Bloomberg sums it up this way: “U.S. lenders bailed out by the government are returning the favor by stepping up purchases of Treasuries, helping to temper a rise in borrowing costs.” Continue reading Banks use TARP money to buy U.S. bonds Banks use TARP money to buy U.S. bonds originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Banks use TARP money to buy U.S. bonds