Word: ponzi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Kotz is the man saddled with the responsibility for uncovering why the SEC missed Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi. He's also putting together reports later this year that will make recommendations for agency reforms. "We hope to have a Madoff investigation report completed by the end of summer," says Kotz. "We expect to have the audit report recommendations shortly thereafter." (Follow Madoff's downfall in pictures...
...important are whistleblowers in catching investor fraud? According to Stephen Obie, acting director of the division of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, over 50% of Ponzi schemes and other frauds he investigates come to him through whistleblowers and investor complaints. The CFTC is the sister agency of the SEC, handling commodities, futures, and foreign currency fraud...
Obie and his team have uncovered seven new Ponzi schemes this year alone, the most recent being this week's $4.4 million affinity Ponzi hitting Hawaii's deaf community and, though not officially called a Ponzi, the SEC's alleged $8 billion CD fraud by R. Allen Stanford, the globe-trotting financier and cricket impresario...
...Minnesota case, the CFTC complaint charges Hays with misappropriating investor funds to purchase a $4 million yacht, among other things. Hays could not be located for comment. "Hays ran his Ponzi scheme from his yacht but was grounded when the tide turned as federal authorities exposed this egregious fraud," said Obie in a prepared statement. When asked why the Ponzi surge is so great now, Obie said, "What you're seeing is the collapse of Ponzi funds in hard economic times - but I'm afraid as times get tougher, we're going to see new fraud develop, especially foreign-currency...
Last month, Obie guessed that his Ponzi caseload would hit about one per month, but he later increased that prediction to two a month. With six such cases in the first 45 days of the year, it looks to be an easy target...