Madoff Brother Eyed for Not Reporting Scam

Fraudster bragged of family ties to SEC

(NEWSER) - An SEC official dated and later married the niece of confessed fraudster Bernard Madoff, and the agency is investigating the link, reports the Wall Street Journal. Eric Swanson, an SEC director of compliance who left the agency, married Shana Madoff, a compliance lawyer at Madoff's firm, last year, but began dating her in 2006. Madoff bragged of his "very close" relationship with an SEC regulator last year, crowing that "my niece even married one," reports ABC News. More»

Judge liquidates confessed fraudster's investment firm

(NEWSER) - The SEC is coming under fire for failing to spot what may be the biggest securities fraud in history, the Washington Post reports. The regulator received repeated warnings from 1999 onwards that Bernard Madoff's investment fund was fishy, but failed to conduct even a routine examination until Madoff blew the whistle on himself last week. Madoff may have avoided scrutiny because he also ran a high-profile, legitimate business, helped create Nasdaq, and advised the SEC on electronic trading. More»

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»

Peter Madoff subject of 'wide-ranging' Ponzi scheme inquiry

(NEWSER) - Finance's most-tarnished family name took another hit yesterday when it emerged that Peter Madoff is the target of a criminal probe relating to big brother Bernie's Ponzi scheme. A court filing states that the Manhattan US attorney's office is conducting an "active and wide ranging" probe of Peter, who was chief compliance officer at Bernie's firm, the New York Post reports. 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»