GMAC & Cerberus (hedge fund) Get $6 billion from U.S. Taxpayers

***Update: Now $6 billion!

Did you hear? We are bailing out hedge funds now.  GMAC got $5 billion from U.S. taxpayers.

Cerberus Capital Management (a hedge fund) owns 51% of GMAC.  A few days ago there was talk that Cerberus would give up some of Chrysler so it could receive federal bailout funds. Our government gives them our $5 billion dollars through GMAC instead. No need to worry. I’m sure Chrysler will still get our $4 billion.

Should we Bailout Bernie Madoff too?

Treasury to Buy $6 Billion GMAC Stake (Bloomberg)

Cerberus Capital Management (Wikipedia)

What’s Bigger Than Cisco, Coke, Or McDonald’s? (BusinessWeek)

Steve Feinberg’s Cerberus, a vast hedge fund that’s snapping up companies — lots of them.

I am LIVID! I am now going to find the addresses & phone numbers of every rich stupid Cerberus executive. The masses may not be smart, but they do know how to find Greenwich, CT and they’re googling billionaires.

Aimee
Aim for Answers

Filed under: News & Views, The One Percent , bailout, billionaires, Cerberus, GMAC, hedge funds

Madoff Must Reveal all Assets

Madoff to Reveal Assets as Investors Sue for Funds (Bloomberg)

Investors looking to recoup some of the $50 billion they lost in Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme may get a better idea what the New York financial adviser has left when he is forced to reveal his assets to regulators.

Madoff, 70, must provide a detailed list of all investments, loans, lines of credit, business interests, brokerage accounts and other holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission by New Year’s Eve, a federal judge ruled. Madoff’s foreign business units were given until Jan. 26 to provide a similar accounting. [Read More]

The judge gave him until New Year’s eve to report all assets to the S.E.C.  This list should be a real eye opener.  Victims will learn more of the awful truth surrounding their investments with Madoff.

On another note, there seems to be a ton of gossip surrounding Walter Noel, his girls, and Fairfield Greenwich.

BEAUTIES HIT WITH MADOFF MUD (New York Post)

Hunting Monica & Walter Noel (Cityfile)

Aimee
Aim for Answers

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , fairfield greenwich, financial fraud, madoff, madoff gossip, Ponzi scheme, Walter Noel

Madoff Fund Operator Dead

Madoff Fund Operator De La Villehuchet Found Dead in New York  (Bloomberg)

Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, who ran a fund that invested with Bernard Madoff, was found dead at his Madison Avenue office today, a New York City police officer at the scene said. The death appeared to be a suicide, he said. [Read more]

Death: Madoff-Duped Hedge Fund Founder Kills Self in Office (Gawker)

Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, founder of Access International Advisors, had just confessed the investment and probable billion-dollar loss to clients, and had spent days frantically trying to figure out ways to recover his losses. [Read more]

And some links about Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet  in french. 

Château de Ploüer (22) (ex aequo)  [La Demeure Historique : association des monuments historiques privés]

Dotation : 5000€ Objectif : encourager la conservation, la sauvegarde et la remise en état de livres, manuscrits, plans, terriers ou archives, se trouvant dans une demeure historique, et appartenant au propriétaire de ladite demeure. Lauréat : Thierry MAGON de LA VILLEHUCHET. 

LaTribune.fr – Exclusif – Scandale Madoff : le fondateur d’Access International se suicide.

Can’t read French? That’s okay: Google Translate

OMG! Okay, I hate using OMG, but in this case it was my gut reaction.  Apparently, he had over $1 billion invested with Madoff. Is there going to be more of this?  I wonder what Walter Noel is thinking.

Aimee
Aim for Answers

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , financial fraud, hedge funds, madoff, madoff gossip, news en français, Ponzi scheme, Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet

Madoff Tuesday: Lifestyles of Lawsuits & Legacy Jets

Fairfield Greenwich Fund Sued by Investors for Madoff Ventures (Bloomberg)

Noel’s Greenwich Sentry fund invested $220 million with Madoff and his Fairfield Sentry fund invested $7.3 billion solely in Madoff, jeopardizing investors’ interests while collecting “millions of dollars in fees,” according to a complaint filed Dec. 19 in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. [Read more]

Unfortunately…. (Dealbreaker)

First we had the problem where our NAV calculations suffered due to a division by zero error.  [Read more] [Dear Fairfield Investor]

Madoff: Lifestyles of the rich and infamous (Fortune)

Bernard Madoff, the man behind an alleged $50 billion fraud, has a yacht named ‘Bull,’ owns several luxurious homes and may even have had two private planes on call. [Read more]

Air Bernie: Welcome Aboard! (Cityfile)

It’s not all bad news for the folks defrauded by Bernie Madoff. In addition to his handful of homes in Manhattan, Montauk, and Palm Beach, it’s likely Madoff’s 50 percent stake in this $24 million Embaer Legacy jet will eventually be distributed to the people he cheated as part of his elaborate scheme. [Read more]

Madoff investor seeks relief from SEC: report (Reuters)

An investor who lost nearly $2 million investing with Bernard Madoff has filed a claim against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging the agency was negligent in failing to detect an alleged decades-long fraud, the Wall Street Journal said. [Read more]

Why is it that so many of the Forbes 400 are hedge fund managers?  These guys are dumb and their only talent is wasting other peoples’ money.  From Bernie and Walter to Chris Cox and George Bush, these guys are the reason our financial system is collapsing.  What these guys don’t get is that we live in the age of information.  The masses know all about these idiots, where they go, what they spend, and how they live.  

My advice to Bernie and his friends: watch out and sleep with one eye open.  The revolution will not be televised, but it will be available on YouTube.

Aimee
Aim for Answers 

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , bernard madoff, fairfield greenwich, fairfield investor, financial fraud, hedge funds, jet, madoff, madoff gossip, Ponzi scheme, sentry, Walter Noel

Madoff Monday: Burned Bridges & Divorce

Madoff Monday begins with some gossip on Andrew Madoff’s wife, Deborah, who reportedly filed for divorce the same day Bernie got arrested.  Mark and Andrew are apparently not speaking to their parents either.

Were you ever a Madoff investor? Thought you made some money and avoided this nightmare? Think again. 

BRIDGES BURNED WITH MADOFF CLAN (New York Post)

Brothers Andrew and Mark Madoff have not uttered a word to their disgraced financier father since they turned him in to authorities on Dec. 11.

It became even tougher for Andrew, 42, when his wife of almost 17 years, Deborah, 41, filed divorce papers in Manhattan Family Court on the same day his dad was cuffed. [Read more] [Bernie's Circle]

Sosnik Bell To Madoff Victims: We’re “Shocked” To Learn Of This Fraud (CLUSTERSTOCK)

Gold Medal Swindler Madoff Rips Off Olympic Committee (The Business Sheet)

Added Insult to Madoff Investors (Fortune)

According to Bentley, it is long-settled law that some investors might have to give back some or all of their investment gains. But what has changed as a result of a federal court ruling in 2007 — stemming from the faked results and misappropriation by the now-convicted managers of the $450 million Bayou hedge funds — is that some investors might have to return some of their principal, too. [Read more]

 

Want to see the details of Madoff’s criminal complaint?  

U.S. v. Madoff, 08-mag-2735

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/madoff.html

Order Freezing Assets and Granting Other Relief 

Go way back and see Madoff web site through the years. Or see it today: madoff.com (taken over by the courts).

Aimee
Aim for Answers

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , Andrew Madoff, Deborah Madoff, fraud, Madoff Case, madoff gossip, madoff investors, madoff old web site, Olympic Committee, photos, Ponzi scheme, ruth madoff, Sosnik Bell, U.S. v. Madoff

Madoff Sunday: Victims list, FBI Shifts Resources, Gossip, Tremont

Today, I’m reading the growing list of Madoff investors/victims.  Also, the FBI is shifting resources to deal with fraud cases, including Madoff.  

There’s also more gossip and rumors surrounding the case, including photos of Madoff watching TV and  big Madoff investors still living the high life in the face of huge losses. And more info surrounding Tremont Funds.

Bring Us The Bodies (Dealbreaker)

Although his Fairfield Greenwich Group had its ass torn out of the revelation that Madoff’s biz was a Ponz, Walter Noel is apparently still living it up, in velvet dinner jackets, no less. So that’s nice. Unfortunately, then we have killjoy Ezra Merkin, liquidating his Gabriel Capital LP: [Read more]

Madoff Mania (New York Social Diary)

Great article for those who want to know the skinny surrounding Madoff (complete with photos).

Someone told me that among the crowd congregated outside his building was a man who threw a punch at him. There are others who suggest that he’s endangering himself by going out in public. There are others who are convinced that some distraught now-former client will want to kill him. Or that he wlll do it himself. [Read more]

PICTURE OF BERNARD & RUTH MADOFF, ALL DRESSED UP [PHOTO] (Women Hoo Embarrass Women)

Madoff CFO, Frank Dipascali, Married to JPMorganChase Private Banker (Mrs Panstreppon’s Blog)

Nice family. Frank pushes phony equities and his wife writes worthless mortgages.

FBI Agents Shifted From Terror Work to Madoff, Subprime Probes (Bloomberg)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had to engage in “triage” in responding to successive frauds involving subprime mortgages, auction-rate securities and Madoff, who prosecutors said confessed this month to bilking investors out of $50 billion, Cardona said in an interview yesterday. [Read more]

Madoff’s Victims [Investor list & Amount of Exposure] (The Wall Street Journal)

Victims include hedge funds, charities, schools and even a Korean Teachers pension fund.  Wow, the International Olympic Committee too. OMG!

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro Investigating Tremont Group Holdings and the Rye Fund, Alleged Feeder Funds Affected by Madoff Fraud (PR-inside.com)

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP (www.hbsslawsecurities.com/tremont) is investigating the actions of MassMutual’s Tremont Group Holdings, Inc., Rye Investment Management and the parent company Oppenheimer Funds, on behalf of investors who lost millions in the recent Madoff downfall. The firm is investigating potential breach of fiduciary duties and other legal obligations to clients who invested in Tremont Funds, specifically the Rye Select Fund (“The Rye Fund”) and Tremont Capital. [Read more]

Aimee
Aim for Answers

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , fbi, Frank DiPascali, gossip, investor list, Madoff Case, Oppenheimer, photos, Ponzi scheme, rumors, ruth madoff, Rye Investment Management, Tremont, Walter Noel

Madoff: Tales in the City

Here’s a bit of my Saturday reading on Madoff and his mess.  From folks obsessed to fights in Palm Beach, all the sorted tales are revealed.

• Superrich Madoff Investors Fight At Trump Palm Beach Party. (THE BUSINESS SHEET)
• Billionaire Madoff Victim: Bernie Was Anxious Last Month. (THE BUSINESS SHEET)
• PETER DAVIS’ STATUS UPDATE: WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S (PAPERMAG)
• How Long Has This Been Going On? (CLUSTERSTOCK)
• Innocence Lost (Portfolio) 
• Mr. Madoff’s Secrets (NO MORE CORPORATE SECRETS)

NewsDaily: Charity Picower says closes from Madoff losses

(2008-12-20) — The Picower Foundation, a charity that supports programs ranging from medical research to education, said it was shutting down because of losses from investments with Bernard Madoff.

If I turn myself into the police, will I get locked up in a $7 million dollar upper east side apartment too?

So who’s really paying for his [security] guards?  If his wife wrote a check, doesn’t that actually mean that his victims are paying to protect him?

Hey Mr. Madoff:  All these charities, Really? You suck !!!

Aimee
“Aim for Answers”

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , fraud, Madoff Case, madoff gossip, madoff investors, madoff poll, palm beach, Ponzi scheme

Madoff Under 24/7 House Arrest

Madoff Restricted to Home; U.S. Warns of Harm, Flight. (Bloomberg)

Madoff, 70, had been subject to electronic monitoring and a 7 p.m. curfew under a Dec. 17 court order. Now he is barred from leaving his Upper East Side apartment except for court appearances, and his building will be watched by security guards and video surveillance, according to a letter from prosecutors filed today in federal court in Manhattan.

The security service, which will be in place by tomorrow, will watch Madoff’s doors and will be able to send a signal from an observation post to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the letter. One reason for the new bail conditions was “to prevent harm or flight,” the government said. [Read more]

From The New York Times: Madoff Placed Under 24-Hour House Arrest

The New York Daily News reported:

“Bernie has been told that if he doesn’t cough up every dime he has hidden in offshore accounts, someone in his family will be killed,” said one source who knows several of Madoff’s affluent victims. [Read more]

Madoff Reportedly Receiving Death Threats.  (Gothamist)

From Cluster Stock: More Groups Hired Madoff-Linked Mystery Firm Sosnik Bell

It’s not hard to imagine threats to a man who swindled folks and charities out of $50 billion dollars. 

Aimee
“Aim for Answers”

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , fraud, house arrest, Madoff Case, Ponzi scheme, Sosnik Bell

Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?-Questions on Tremont

Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?

Dealbreaker is asking questions about Oppenheimer’s acquisition of Tremont in 2001.  Interesting.  I wonder how investors are going to feel about this one. It’s a must read.

“We believe Tremont’s multi-manager, funds-of-funds approach to hedge fund investing will appeal to many of our high-net-worth shareholders. ” [Read more]

What was Oppenheimer thinking?

Want to see the details of Madoff’s criminal complaint?  

U.S. v. Madoff, 08-mag-2735

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/madoff.html

Order Freezing Assets and Granting Other Relief 

Aimee
“Aim for Answers”

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , Madoff Case, Oppenheimer, Ponzi scheme, Tremont, U.S. v. Madoff

Madoff victims numbering 4,000 & Misdeeds dating back to the 70s

Bernard Madoff’s Misconduct Said to Date to 1970s (Bloomberg)

U.S. regulators, trying to unravel the breadth of Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, have found evidence of misconduct stretching back to at least the 1970s, two people familiar with the inquiry said.

Madoff’s investment advisory business, where he allegedly operated the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, is now estimated to have had more than 4,000 customers, the people said, declining to be identified because the inquiry isn’t public. An advisory unit Madoff registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission claimed in a January filing to have no more than 25 clients. People familiar with the probe said Dec. 14 he also ran a secret unregistered business. [Read more]

The article also mentions that Price Waterhouse said Avellino & Bienes kept few records:

In its 1992 lawsuit, the SEC claimed accountants Frank Avellino and Michael Bienes began raising money in 1962 and placing it with Madoff while promising investors returns of 13.5 percent to 20 percent, according to court documents obtained by Bloomberg. As of October 1992, their firm, Avellino & Bienes, had issued $441 million in unregistered notes to 3,200 people and entities, court papers say. They invested solely with Madoff, who opened his business in 1960.

Avellino and Bienes, who were represented by Sorkin, agreed in November 1992 to shut down their business and reimburse clients. Lee Richards, the court-appointed trustee over Avellino & Bienes, hired auditors Price Waterhouse to scrutinize the books of the firm, which operated as an unregistered investment company, according to the SEC. [Read more]

This is unbelievable.  I wonder how many more frauds like this are out there.  The big question now is how could all of these firms miss the fraud?  Any sign of due diligence? Here come the lawsuits.

Aimee
“Aim for Answers” 

Filed under: Madoff Case, News & Views , Avellino & Bienes, financial fraud, Madoff Case, Ponzi scheme, Price Waterhouse