SEC Under Fire for Flubbing Madoff Warnings

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»

Fraudster may have confessed to brother before he told his sons

(NEWSER) - Bernard Madoff's brother learned that the Madoff fund was a huge scam the evening before the fraudster confessed to his sons, but he failed to inform authorities, insiders tell the New York Times. Peter Madoff, who worked closely with his older brother for decades, has not been charged with any crime, but experts say he was obligated to tell regulators as soon as he was informed, as the sons did. Also among Bernard Madoff's victims, the New York Post reports: his own sister. More»

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»

(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»