Bernard Madoff, who has been charged with running a Ponzi scheme that may involve as much as $50 billion in losses, advised the SEC on how to protect investors from scam artists when he served on an SEC advisory committee in the early 2000s. He publicly pushed the idea that “In today’s regulatory environment, it’s virtually impossible to violate rules” in this October 2007 conference.
Based on information now available about the $50 billion Ponzi scheme, it appears that not only can rules be violated, but Bernard Madoff used his insider contacts at the SEC and around Wall Street to build a business that the SEC never audited between 1999, when he first received a letter from the SEC raising the question of a Ponzi scheme, until last week when the SEC conducted an examination of his business. In addition to advising the SEC, Madoff served as chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Donald Langevoort, a Georgetown University law professor, told the Washington Post, “Bernie had a good reputation at the SEC with a lot of highly placed people as an innovator as somebody who speaks his mind and knows what’s going on in the industry. I think he was seen as a valuable resource to the commission in its deliberations.”
The more I see of this guys face, the more I think of Genghis Kahn’s execution of Inalchuq.
It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
rot in hell madoff.
Whut the hey, it’s like a (black hat) hacker becoming a Security Consultant. (while still hacking?)
J/P=?
Now, pedro, there will be no impaling of infidels — it sets the sort of precedent I really hate to see. What say we just let Madoff face his former investors and then excuse the guards from the room. It’s called “closure.”
50 Billion is a bit much BUT its still one guy. He ran free because of the ATTITUDE TOWARDS REGULATION that exists in Washington. More with the Repugs, but still with the Dems. Those whores worship money — always assuming some of somebody else’s will be “contributed” to them.
With the computers we have today, this is practically “an open secret.”
Speaking of computers–no reason not to track contributions. The rule should be “Once you contribute to a politician, that politician CANNOT VOTE on any money/program/statute that applies to you. That has stopped the nefarious pay to play and overt fraud in other more limited regulatory environments.
This Madoff story is starting to get big here in Brazil.
In his list of clients there is Brazilian politicians, government officials, bankers, companies and businessmen who invested laundered money is his schemes.
Now the press and the police are investigating the people in that list and the government is hoping to seize any money that might be left.
Pedro #6
#6 I think it is getting dangerous to be an infidel these day
Which infidel?
The 1 the Christians, Muslims, “insert your religion here”, or Jewish people hate?
#10 wrote “Which infidel?”
I think he was talking about me, the infidel that Christians, Jews, and Muslims can all hate in a very equal-opportunity way, not to mention even a surprising number of atheists and agnostics.
In that respect, I’m a very unifying influence.
#11, Gary,
You are much too good looking to be hated.
8)
The Robin Hood Complex in most of us will lionize someone with balls.
I understand that most of his suckers were not the gullible ordinary middle class people. They, for the most part, were the already wealthy, sophisticated investing type that were just a little too greedy.
If the elite, their families, and friends weren’t the ones caught up in the scam, I doubt we would be hearing much about this.
#13 Mr. Fusion, that’s actually my curse, and no matter how often I tell people, “Don’t hate me because I’m handsome,” it doesn’t seem to help. They do anyway. I just don’t get it.
#15, Gary,
That is much more preferable than having women faint and children screaming and running away.
QUICK RUN !!! Here come Cow-Patty.
😉
This proves that it is not what you do but who you know.
Investigator: I think this guy is running the biggest scam in history.
SEC: No no, I have him over for dinner all the time.
#17, hazza,
You gave me a thought. No evidence, just an idea.
Madoff did this on purpose just to rub greed in the nose of the investors. Sure he made money, but only at the expense of those already wealthy.
By hob nobbing with the SEC Board and senior staff he was flaunting how stupid they were. How lax they were in actually investigating true scams.
I hope someone can show me how I’m wrong, I’m beginning to get a Robin Hood complex about this guy.