Madoff Feeder Fund Charged With Fraud

(NEWSER) - Government investigators are turning their eye to the middlemen who led clients into Bernard Madoff's long-running Ponzi scheme. The Wall Street Journal profiles five of them:

• Robert Jaffe: A dashing Florida philanthropist, he funneled tony clients to ex-boss Madoff. Jaffe says he is a "victim of these tragic events."
• Stanley Chais: His exclusive fund, "The Arbitrage," was secretly a pipeline to Madoff. Chais' family foundation is "wiped out" by the scandal, its director said.

Fairfield Greenwich didn't deliver promised oversight to clients

(NEWSER) - With its clients having lost $7.3 billion in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, a Connecticut hedge-fund advising firm wants the public’s sympathy—but in fact, the Fairfield Greenwich Group took almost $500 million in fees alone from the money Madoff shepherded. And, the New York Times reports, it’s not clear the firm delivered on the strict oversight it promised its investors. More»

Fairfield Greenwich says it didn't know about improper dealings, had $7.5B invested

(NEWSER) - As Bernard Madoff’s financial network comes under scrutiny, one investment fund is emerging as an especially close partner, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fairfield Greenwich had $7.5 billion invested with Madoff, more than half the group’s total assets as of Nov. 1. There’s no evidence Fairfield knew of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, but it unquestionably helped him reach a much larger global audience. More»

Irving Picard sues, again, for money

(NEWSER) - The court-appointed trustee seeking to recover billions of dollars lost by Bernie Madoff is suing for $30 million that he says the Madoff family invested in oil, gas, and tech, reports the AP . The suit filed by trustee Irving Picard says the investments were used as vehicles to funnel money out of Madoff's business, and comes as a follow-up to the lawsuit he filed in November seeking nearly $200 million from Madoff family members who he said lived lavishly while using the family business like a "piggy bank." More»

Former partner knows where it is, may cut deal

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff has a secret stash, and his partner in crime knows where it is. The Ponzi schemer has told fellow federal prisoners he funneled $9 billion to three people—“I think it was personal friends,” the source tells the New York Post —and he suspects Frank DiPascali is using his knowledge of the recipients to make a deal with prosecutors. More»