Madoff Lieutenant Expected to Blow Lid Off Scam

Trustee says bank enabled fraud by ignoring warning signs

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme survived for so long because HSBC ignored "red flags" and kept funneling investors' money to the fraudster, says the trustee trying to reclaim money for Madoff's victims. Irving Picard is suing the bank and a group of feeder funds for at least $9 billion, the New York Times reports. More»

Peter Madoff subject of 'wide-ranging' Ponzi scheme inquiry

(NEWSER) - Finance's most-tarnished family name took another hit yesterday when it emerged that Peter Madoff is the target of a criminal probe relating to big brother Bernie's Ponzi scheme. A court filing states that the Manhattan US attorney's office is conducting an "active and wide ranging" probe of Peter, who was chief compliance officer at Bernie's firm, the New York Post reports. More»

Ponzi kingpin now sharing cell with drug offender

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff ran the druggiest, most decadent securities fraud in town, according to court papers filed yesterday. Madoff's offices were so awash in cocaine—paid for with investors' money—that it was nicknamed "the North Pole," and the firm hosted drug-fueled parties featuring topless waitresses, according to a lawsuit filed by swindled investors. Nuggets about Madoff's precipitous fall from the high life are tucked throughout the 276-page document seeking restitution from Madoff, family members and other financial entities who knew bout the scam, according to the suit. More»

DiPascali will get time off his 125 years

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff's right-hand man pleaded guilty to a slew of fraud charges today and agreed to help prosecutors unravel how the multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme worked, the Wall Street Journal reports. In return, Frank DiPascali, 52, will get time shaved off his potential sentence of 125 years. DiPascali began working for Madoff in 1975 at age 19 and said he knew by the late 1980s that it was all a sham. "It was wrong, and I knew it at the time," he said. 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»