NY Investigates Madoff Chum in Charity Losses

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»

Merkin unloads art, but buyer's identity a mystery

(NEWSER) - Ezra Merkin, the financier who pumped billions of his clients' money into Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, is selling more than 10 paintings by Mark Rothko and two sculptures by Alberto Giacometti for $310 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some of the proceeds may go to his defrauded investors, who include charities and nonprofits. More»

Trustee wants $558M back from feeder-fund withdrawals

(NEWSER) - The trustee representing investors who lost their savings with Bernie Madoff is suing Ezra Merkin, the feeder-fund manager who withdrew $558 million from Madoff's shop before the collapse of his Ponzi scheme. Irving Picard, who is responsible for winding down Madoff's defunct company, alleges that Merkin should have known from the abnormally high and consistent returns that Madoff's business was fraudulent. It's the second suit Picard has filed in a week, reports the Wall Street Journal. 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»

(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»