Jail Ruling Looms After Madoff's Bling Gifts

Steady returns, tiny auditors prompted questions

(NEWSER) - Bernard Madoff's investment operation—found this week to be a massive Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $50 billion—raised plenty of red flags over the last decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. As far back as 1999, Madoff’s steady returns in wide-ranging markets seemed unrealistic to some observers, and at least one tried to blow the whistle. “Madoff Securities is the world's largest Ponzi Scheme,” a rival wrote to the SEC that year. More»

FBI arrests Bernard Madoff; SEC on trail

(NEWSER) - The FBI has arrested a giant among Wall Street brokers and charged him with bilking his investors of up to $50 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. Federal agents busted Bernard L. Madoff, a former NASDAQ chaiman, after he admitted to employees that his investment advisory business was a "giant Ponzi scheme." The SEC has begun a companion civil case. More»

(NEWSER) - Bernard Madoff’s lawyer argued today that the financier, who has pleaded guilty to a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, should be free on bail until June sentencing, the New York Times reports. Ira Sorkin cited past precedent in similar cases, but the prosecution said Madoff has incentive to flee—and one dubious appeals judge noted that he has ample “mechanism for flight.” More»

Bernie 'sick' of house arrest in $7M Park Ave. apartment: source

(NEWSER) - Investigators are going over millions of documents found in a Queens warehouse that may shed light on Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, the New York Daily News reports. The warehouse was used to store records from Madoff Investment Securities, spanning the firm’s decades-long history. More»

Investors increasingly are becoming wary

(NEWSER) - Cash-strapped investors looking for redemption from investment funds are turning up surprises in the form of “mini-Madoffs,” Ponzi schemes that—while dwarfed by the alleged $50 billion fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff—nevertheless have taken victims for millions, reports the New York Times. At least six frauds with multimillion-dollar price tags have been reported in January, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»