Fund Warned Clients Madoff 'Could Abscond With Assets'

They're offering cash upfront, for reduced amounts, to take over claims

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff made a fortune off his victims, and now speculators in the field known as distressed securities hope to do the same. As the New York Times explains: These speculators are contacting those who lost money and offering a deal: We'll give you cash immediately and take over your claim as it winds through bankruptcy court. The Madoff victims would get only 30 cents on the dollar at most, but they wouldn't have to wait years for the cases to be settled, possibly at a reduced amount anyway. More»

Justice Department brags about wave of arrests

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities have charged more than 500 people with various forms of fraud during a 3.5-month probe, in what Eric Holder today termed the largest crackdown on scam artists in US history. Of those, 343 were criminally charged, with the defendants accused of everything from running Ponzi schemes to pump-and-dump scams to foreign-exchange frauds. Another 189 have been civilly charged, according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

Ponzi schemer taped giving associates tips to dodge regulators

(NEWSER) - The most important thing to remember if you want to fool the SEC is to act casual, Bernie Madoff told executives at Fairfield Greenwich Group. “You don't want them to think you're concerned about anything,” the Ponzi scheme mastermind said in a phone call taped in 2005, CNN reports. Most regulators are just looking to get some experience in order to work on Wall Street themselves, Madoff said. “You don't have to be too brilliant with these guys," he summed up. More»

(NEWSER) - Investigators see yesterday's guilty plea of Bernard Madoff's right-hand man as a major breakthrough in their efforts to untangle the elaborate Ponzi scheme, BusinessWeek reports. Frank DiPascali, chief financial officer at Madoff's firm, has promised to cooperate with prosecutors and is expected to name other people involved in the scam and to help trace assets Madoff may have stashed around the world. More»

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff won't be able to spend $100 without scrutiny under a deal approved by a bankruptcy judge overseeing the liquidation of her husband's financial firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. Madoff agreed to give a full accounting of her income and any spending over $100 to a court-appointed trustee acting for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. More»