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Cummings Issues Statement on SEC IG Report on David Becker Conflict of Interest in Madoff Scandal

Cummings Issues Statement on SEC IG Report on David Becker Conflict of Interest in Madoff Scandal


Washington, DC – The SEC Inspector General has completed a six-month investigation into allegations of conflict of interest against SEC’s former general counsel, David Becker, concerning his role in the Commission’s work relating to the victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.  The IG’s final report was issued publicly today.  Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings issued the following statement:

“In its report, the IG’s office found sufficient evidence of Mr. Becker’s conflict of interest to call into question the integrity of the process used by the Commission to decide how to value fictitious profits made under the Madoff scheme.  The IG also found that procedures at the SEC ethics office broke down and failed to prevent a conflict of interest from potentially tainting the agency’s work.

“I believe the victims of the Madoff scheme deserve to know that the SEC’s decision in this case was not tainted by conflicts of interest.  The IG recommended that the Commission take a second look and conduct a revote of its decision.  I strongly urge the Commission to take these appropriate steps in order to give Madoff’s victims that peace of mind.

“I hope that the Commission will adopt the IG’s other recommendations as well.  I am encouraged that Chairman Schapiro asked SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz to open this investigation, which was a good faith effort on her part to get to get to the bottom of this issue.  I am also encouraged that Chairman Schapiro decided last year to revamp the office of ethics, to hire new ethics counsel for the agency, and to provide greater resources to that office.”

 

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Source: http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



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Issa and Grassley Probe SEC on Failure to Properly Examine Conflict of Interest in Madoff Scandal

Issa and Grassley Probe SEC on Failure to Properly Examine Conflict of Interest in Madoff Scandal


WASHINGTON D.C. – Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter today requesting additional information from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Chairman Issa and Senator Grassley seek to clarify how the SEC neglected to act on the seemingly obvious, significant conflicts of interest presented by then-General Counsel David Becker’s involvement in the Madoff case.

[ipaper docId=50415671 access_key=key-zdgw6xcrbry0n2f1fr6 height=600 width=600 /]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



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FORBES | Contemptible Performance by JP Morgan Chase Re Madoff

FORBES | Contemptible Performance by JP Morgan Chase Re Madoff


Robert Lenzner
Feb. 26 2011 – 8:06 pm

I am astounded, stunned, shocked and ferociously outraged by the amoral performance of the establishment bank in America– JP Morgan Chase.(JPM,NYSE)

For 7 years, from 1998 until 2005 , JPMorgan Chase sat by passively and negligently while $76 billion– yes $76 biillion– was laundered in exchanges between two of the bank’s wealthy customers– Bernard Madoff’s Investment Account 703 and the Private Bank Customer Number 1, who has been identified as Norman Levy, a New York real estate developer, who died in 2005.

That’s $76 billion, which clearly did not belong to either Madoff or Levy. That’s $76 billion– more money than either Warren Buffett or Bill Gates are worth today. The amount involved beats the amounts involved in any scandal involving Swiss banks that have been hiding money for wealthy Americans wishing to avoid taxes.

continue reading … FORBES

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



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COMPLAINT: In re: BERNARD L. MADOFF, Debtor. IRVING H. PICARD, Trustee for the Liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, v. HSBC

COMPLAINT: In re: BERNARD L. MADOFF, Debtor. IRVING H. PICARD, Trustee for the Liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, v. HSBC


PRESS RELEASE OF IRVING H. PICARD TRUSTEE FOR LIQUIDATION OF MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURITIES SEEKS $9 BILLION IN RECOVERIES, AND ADDITIONAL DAMAGES AT TRIAL, FROM HSBC, RELATED ENTITIES, FEEDER FUNDS IN MADOFF PONZI SCHEME

NEW YORK, NY, December 5, 2010 – Irving H. Picard, the Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”) today announced the filing of a complaint in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging 24 counts of financial fraud and misconduct against HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC Bank plc, and affiliated entities (collectively “HSBC”).

The complaint alleges that HSBC enabled Madoff’s Ponzi scheme through the creation, marketing and support of an international network of a dozen feeder funds based in Europe, the Caribbean, and Central America, which are also named in the complaint (collectively, the “Feeder Fund Defendants”). Other Defendants named in the filing include the management companies and service providers of those feeder funds, as well as certain of their directors and managers, namely Sonja Kohn, Genevalor, Mario Benbassat and his sons, Albert and Stephane, as well as Bank Medici and Unicredit, who together with other defendants helped fuel and extend Madoff’s Ponzi scheme across international borders.

Continue to full complaint below…

[ipaper docId=44790292 access_key=key-snlmfsd3w8jsk0e8qxq height=600 width=600 /]

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.



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With Banks Under Fire, Some Expect a Settlement: NYTimes.com

With Banks Under Fire, Some Expect a Settlement: NYTimes.com


From left, Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times; Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News; Ramin Talaie for The New York Times

From left, Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general; Robert Khuzami, of the S.E.C.; and Preet Bharara, of the United States attorney’s office. The agencies are investigating Wall Street.

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and ERIC DASH

Published: May 13, 2010

It is starting to feel as if everyone on Wall Street is under investigation by someone for something.

News on Thursday that New York State prosecutors are examining whether eight banks hoodwinked credit ratings agencies opened yet another front in what is fast becoming the legal battle of a decade for the big names of finance.

Not since the conflicts at the center of Wall Street stock research were laid bare a decade ago, eventually resulting in a $1.4 billion industrywide settlement, have so many investigations swirled across the financial landscape.

Nearly two years after Washington rescued big banks with billions of taxpayer dollars, half a dozen government agencies are still trying, with mixed success, to peel back the layers of the collapse to determine who, if anyone, broke the rules.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Justice Department, the United States attorney’s office and more are examining how banks created, rated, sold and traded mortgage securities that turned out to be some of the worst investments ever devised.

Virtually all of the investigations, criminal as well as civil, are in their early stages, and investigators concede that their job is daunting. The S.E.C. has been examining major banks’ mortgage operations since last summer, but so far, it has filed a civil fraud claim against just one big player: Goldman Sachs. Goldman has vowed to fight.

But legal experts are already starting to handicap potential outcomes, not only for Goldman but for the broader industry as well. Many suggest that Wall Street banks may seek a global settlement akin to the 2002 agreement related to stock research. Indeed, Wall Street executives are already discussing among themselves what the broad contours of such a settlement might look like.

“I would be stunned if any of these cases go to trial,” said Frank Partnoy, a professor of law at the University of San Diego. “I think Wall Street needs to put this scandal behind it as quickly as possible and move on.”

As part of the 2002 settlement, 10 banks paid $1.4 billion total and pledged to change the way their analysts and investment bankers interacted to prevent conflicts of interest. This time, the price of any settlement would probably be higher and also come with a series of structural reforms.

David Boies, chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, represented the government in its case against Microsoft and is now part of a federal challenge to California’s same-sex marriage ban. He said a settlement by banks might be painful but would ultimately be something Wall Street could live with. “The settlement may be bad for everyone, but not disastrous for anyone,” he said.

A settlement also would let the S.E.C. declare victory without having to bring a series of complex cases. The public, however, might never learn what really went wrong.

“The government doesn’t have the personnel to simultaneously prosecute several investment banks,” said John C. Coffee, a Columbia Law School professor.

The latest salvo came on Thursday from Andrew M. Cuomo, the New York attorney general. His office began an investigation into whether banks misled major ratings agencies to inflate the grades of subprime-linked investments.

Many Americans are probably already wondering why this has taken so long. The answer is that these cases are tricky, like the investments at the center of them.

But regulators also concede that they were reluctant to pursue banks aggressively until the financial industry stabilized. The S.E.C., for one, is now eager to prove that it is on its game after failing to spot the global Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Bernard L. Madoff, or head off the Wall Street excesses that nearly sank the entire economy.

The stakes are high for both sides. At a minimum, the failure to secure a civil verdict, or at least a mammoth settlement, would be another humiliation for regulators.

Wall Street wants to put this season of scandal behind it. That is particularly so given the debate over new financial regulations that is under way on Capitol Hill. The steady flow of new allegations could strengthen calls for tougher rules.

Even worse would be a criminal charge, which could put a firm out of business even if that firm were ultimately found not guilty, as was the case with the accounting giant Arthur Andersen after the fraud at Enron.

“No firm in the financial services field has the stomach for a criminal trial,” Mr. Coffee said.

Bankers have been reluctant until now to take their case to the public. But that is changing as Wall Street chieftains like Lloyd C. Blankfein of Goldman take to the airwaves and New York politicians warn that the city’s economy will be endangered by the attack on some of the city’s biggest employers and taxpayers.

“In New York, Wall Street is Main Street,” Gov. David A. Paterson has said. “You don’t hear anybody in New England complaining about clam chowder.”

There are broader political consequences as well. At the top, there is President Obama, who was backed by much of Wall Street in 2008. Many of those supporters now privately say they are disillusioned and frustrated by his attacks on their industry, which remains a vital source of campaign contributions for both parties.

Closer to home, the man who hopes to succeed Mr. Paterson, Mr. Cuomo, is painting himself as the new sheriff of Wall Street. Another attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, rode a series of Wall Street investigations to the governor’s mansion in 2006.

But ultimately, it is what Wall Street does best — making money — that is already on trial in the court of public opinion.

Put simply, the allegations against Wall Street were prompted by evidence that the firms may have devised and sold securities to investors without telling them they were simultaneously betting against them.

Wall Street firms typically play both sides of trades, whether to help buyers and sellers of everything from simple stocks to complicated derivatives complete their transactions, or to make proprietary bets on whether they would rise or fall.

These activities form half of the four-legged stool on which Wall Street’s profits and revenue rest, the others being advising on mergers and acquisitions and helping companies issue stocks, bonds and other securities.

“This case is a huge deal. It has the potential to be the mother of all Wall Street investigations,” said Mr. Partnoy of the University of San Diego. “The worry is that the government will go after dealings that Wall Street thought were insulated from review.”

Even some Wall Street executives concede that all the scrutiny makes proprietary trading a bit dubious. “The 20 guys in the room with the shades drawn are toast,” one senior executive of a major bank said.

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