Madoff Scam Soaks Jewish Charities

(NEWSER) - The economic crisis isn’t just hurting Wall Street executives—it also spells dark times for the charities they once supported, the Wall Street Journal reports. The number of US nonprofits climbed from about 750,000 a decade ago to more than a million today, but watchers say 100,000 could drop off in the next year. And those that don’t shutter are facing heartbreaking cutbacks. More»

Jeffry Picower faced Ponzi scheme lawsuit

(NEWSER) - Philanthropist Jeffry Picower, who allegedly reaped billions of dollars from longtime friend Bernard Madoff's Ponzi schemes, was found dead today at the bottom of his Florida swimming pool. Efforts to revive him failed, and his death was ruled a drowning, police said. Picower, 67, wife Barbara, and their foundation were among the defendants in a lawsuit brought by the trustee liquidating Madoff's assets, the Palm Beach Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - At least one person looks to have benefited more from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff, ProPublica reports. Jeffry Picower, a secretive philanthropist and investor in medical technologies, is on the books as having withdrawn some $5.1 billion in returns from 1995 to 2008, well beyond his original investment. Records show some fishy numbers in Picower’s accounts, and the Madoff trustee has filed a lawsuit against him. More»

Says 'investment guru' Merkin was really just 'master marketer'

(NEWSER) - New York AG Andrew Cuomo has charged J. Ezra Merkin, a prominent New York philanthropist who funneled $2.4 billion into Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, with fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports. The complaint doesn’t accuse Merkin of knowing about the scheme. But it alleges that he lied to his clients, including many charities and universities, about how exposed they were to Madoff and failed to disclose his conflicts of interest—all while pocketing $470 million in fees. More»

(NEWSER) - Author and Nazi hunter Elie Wiesel, who lost $15.2 million in foundation money and a good chunk of his own fortune to Bernie Madoff, railed today against the “psychopath” financier, the New York Post reports. “He should be put in a solitary cell with a screen, and on the screen, for at least five years of his life, pictures of his victims,” said Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor. “Look what you have done to this old lady." More»