NY Lawyer Pleads Guilty to $400M Fraud

Claimed they spoke to God, made a fortune

(NEWSER) - If only they were real psychics, maybe they would have seen this coming. A Florida family has been indicted for running a psychic advice business that scammed clients out of $40 million over two decades, reports the Miami Herald . In "Operation Crystal Ball," federal prosecutors charged 10 people in Fort Lauderdale and New York with 61 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering—each with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. More»

(NEWSER) - A high-flying New York lawyer who orchestrated a Ponzi scheme to fund his lavish lifestyle has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, the New York Times reports. Marc Dreier pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and securities fraud relating to the scam, which bilked hedge funds and other investors of some $400 million. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 145 years, just 5 years short of the 150 years Bernard Madoff was slapped with. More»

(AP) - Bernard Madoff's lawyer told a judge today his client will plead guilty later this week to 11 counts including money laundering, perjury and securities, mail and wire fraud. Prosecutors say the disgraced money manager will face up to 150 years in prison on the charges. More»

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»

Hedge funds that sold access to Ponzi scheme face collapse

(NEWSER) - Last week Walter Noel was a successful hedge fund manager, with houses from Connecticut to the Caribbean and an adulatory photo shoot in Vanity Fair. But overnight, when Bernie Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme was exposed, his $14.1 billion firm, Fairfield Greenwich Group, lost more than half its assets. While the hedge fund capital of Greenwich has expressed sympathy for Noel, Madoff's biggest known loser—others question his firm's failure to perform due diligence on Madoff's suspiciously steady returns. More»