Bing,

I completely agree.

By the way, did I mention that for a minimum investment of $100k, I can guarantee you 12% annualized returns? All I need is a check made out to the acronym of my company (CASH), and you’re good to go.

I never invested in “the system” and was always told that I needed too in my twenties. I didn’t have any extra money to “gamble”. Now I feel that I am a head by not “investing”.

A suspect is DEEMED innocent until PROVEN guilty. This doctrine only applies to one’s right to a fair trial by an impartial judge or jury.

For the record, an individual can be guilty as sin long before that fact is proven in a court of law.

Your post reminds me of one thing…Craps. We all bet the pass line and let it all ride, while backing our bet, playing our numbers and sometime betting on six the hard way. Madoff was a high roller who used loaded dice to roll. He promised boxcars every roll and delivered…even when the house was looking and knew. As soon as his roll went cold the only people smiling where the C&E’s and the don’t pass a-holes that seem to jinx every table.

I remember I read an article about Bernie Madoff ten years ago. In the article it is revealed that Madoff did something crazy when he was a student at UVA (University of Virginia in Charlottesville) in the 60s: he and another guy bought a cow and then pushed the cow all the way to the roof through a narrow stairway in a historical UVA campus building. Basically the cow couldn’t get off. It is a prank. I remembered the story because it said the guy became the Chairman of NASDAQ.

I am wondering there is any connection between his craziness and the $50B scandal.

I have little sympathy for the investors, they lost due to their own greed. They forgot one of the basic rules of life, “if it’s too good to be be true, it’s too good to be true” and getting that kind of interest should have made someone ask how is that possible?? when everyone else is getting less interest on their investment.

Madoff is not the only snake in the Wallstreet jungle, so maybe others had better take a close look at their own investments.

Bottom line: No matter how smart you think you are, there is always someone who can out smart you.
So never put all your eggs in one basket.

Bernie’s $50 billion caper seems like chump change. Maybe he can restore our “confidence” by promising to pay it back.

The big wheel of US commerce needs an overhaul, but our economic mechanics are ignoring this fact and trying desperately to keep it turning by simply greasing the broken gears with an incomprehensible pile of funny money. No one really believe it will work. No confidence here, either.

As a country, we no longer believe in anything. We sent God into exile and made money our King. We have abandoned any pretense of being a moral nation. When anything goes, everything will. We are all guilty, and we’re going to do some hard time. I am quite confident of that.

The world is in a sad state right now, the worst we can do now is to wait for a Mesiah, do not. That is the reason why we are were we are right now, because we though we found those Mesiahs and we placed all our faith in them. Those Mesiahs were the “big” honchos at Citi, Ford, GM, AIG, GE, Big Brother, etc, etc. Again, never trust or believe in words.

Mr. Bing,

Being short may indicate a lack of trust, but it also can simply indicate a disbelief in a, how should we put it, an irrational level of exhuberance.

Gee, isn’t that paraphrasing one of our fallen heroes.

To quote that properous capitalist, Pete Townsend,
“Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss.”

One thing is for sure: He’s not going to be the last one. There’ll always be another Ponzi down the road to fool us one more time. Can we call it “human nature”?

I do not have any sympathy for “investors” who play in the stock, hedge funds, “boutique” investing companies, etc, etc, nor for all those employees and their families who work/worked there. My respect goes to investors who put their money in producing something tangible from which society can benefit, to investors who know their money is being used to produce the next cancer drug, who are building manufacturing plants, hospitals, schools, stores, hats off to that kind of investors.

This Guy Madoff reminds me of a guy named Jordan Bionda from Hunstville Ontario he has bilked poor unsuspecting folks with a ponzi scheme that started in the Bahamas, came to the USA and to Canada and he is continuing to do this in plain sight of the FBI and the RCMP (Canada’s equivalent). Its not surprising that the securties commission and the regulators let guys like Madoff go they simply don’t care …..an institution has to get ripped off before they take notice…case in point 7 people complained to the RCMP and teh police in Ontario about the ponzi scheme Jordan Bionda runs, he has a civivl judgment against him in excess of $2 Million dollars but he could care less……..so a word to the wise if the name Jordi or Jordan Bionda is mentioned, run dont walk ….and if he or any of the Biondas are on the street, ask them to cross and let you walk past …….

Once again, it is proven that the “smart money” is not very smart and the “sophisticated investors” are naive and stupid.

Bernie Madoff is the tip of the ice berg. As the tip melts away, the body of the ice berg begins to surface.

Nobody should be surprised when they discover that the body of the ice berg is composed of the same material that made up the tip!

So I bought a book a couple years ago while on vacation,called Wall Street Verses America, by Gary Weiss…not as much fun to read as Stanley’s stuff, but quite informative on the shenanigans happening with cats, like this poor schmuck who got caught…wonder how much more of this kinda crap is out there?

Dear Bing AKA Cauncey Gardner,
reread your piece and all I can say is… “you reap what you sow”.

Plant crap and you can expect a bumber crop of turds.

As the 21st, century is soon drawing to a close, (it only lasted 9 years and 20 days), we should all remember to reset our computors and buy to new calanders for the start of the new millenium on January 20th, set every thing to 0001,01,01 AB (after BUSH).

Everything prior to that date will be B.O. (before Obmma also known as the dark ages of America)

you can’t suppress basic human nature. even the pope is greedy.

He is?

This has nothing to do with the pope but, pretty grim world notwithstanding, maybe we can cheer ourselves to some degree with the thought that among those who do not trust the system we can also find admirable souls.

There are still many people who deliberately choose a very modest and humble lifestyle from an economic point of view so they can more freely pursue their ideals. There are still many with a spirit of self-sacrifice who volunteer time and effort to bring serious help to many with dire needs.

And as the system moves to a blacker shade of dark, should not the contrast of brighter examples grow even more noticeable?

How’s that for a positive outlook?

It’s poetry, Ed.

I’m completely flabbergasted that fraudsters of such magnitude,(i.e. Madoff,Lay,Boesky,Milken,etc.),never get harmed by the thousands of individuals they “injured”!

Is it just me or am I the only one who feels like I’ve been living in another universe? In my world, I pay back what I owe; I do everything in my power to maintain the trust people have bestowed upon me; and I don’t expect anyone to bail me out of my own mistakes.

What a bill of goods I bought!

Here are some words to live by:

“In gawd we trust. All others pay cash.”

And I play the stock market, but not with anything I can’t afford to lose.

In the end, T, you will be rewarded. Right?

R. Krieg, London wrote:
My respect goes to investors who put their money in producing something tangible from which society can benefit, to investors who know their money is being used to produce the next cancer drug, who are building manufacturing plants, hospitals, schools, stores, hats off to that kind of investors.

WHAT!!!!!!

Who, prey tell, are you talking about?

GlaxoSmithKline?

Canadian dude wrote:

“Everything prior to that date will be B.O. (before Obmma also known as the dark ages of America)”

OMG, Do you believe Barry is the messiah?

Your post was pretty wacky.

Nothing against Obama but what the F are you talking about? B.O. always meant “body odor” when I was growing up.

I’ll say it again; Do you really believe he is some kind of messiah?

I’ll say it again; Do you really believe he is some kind of messiah?

Posted By Brian,

Well the whole world prayed for someone to replace Bush, Obamma seems more popular around the world than Jesus, and if he can pull the US out of the toilet, a miracle by anyones standard, then he could be a political/financial sort of messiah.

Yeah the initials BO haven’t changed since I was kid either, but that’s more than just a coincidence that during Bush’s
term we should associate the time with bad smells.

Good point T…I believe bad karmic equity is eventually punished, and good karmic equity eventually rewarded.

I personally know the family of Madoff’s “right hand man” of 25 years who died about 5 years ago (i guess lucky him). This family received outsized returns on their money at Madoff for years and years. I am not sad that they “lost” their entire make-believe $25+ million asset base that was still sitting at Madoff when the bust occurred. I only hope that the SIPC group will NOT give anything back to these long-standing early investors – they pulled out over 5 times their original investment over the course of time….and deserve to lose it all – and maybe even give some of the ill gotten gains back.

Madoff’s case is a case of greed getting over more greed. People by nature when they get rich are usually greedy and that is why Madoff used this to do his Ponzi scheme.As the saying goes any business offering staggering profits seems realistic.But because people are greedy they succumb to it.

Is it possible that Bernie was the
Robinhood of Sherwood Forest New York?

I don’t think so. The poor were also ripped off pretty thoroughly.

” ..In the article it is revealed that Madoff did something crazy when he was a student at UVA (University of Virginia in Charlottesville) in the 60s ..”

Odd. His CV says he went to Yeshiva U., NYC. Not many cows there.

I’ll be following the Bernard Madoff story intently on http://www.pigswallstreet.blogspot.com, a new blog, if anyone would like to see new info or a different point of view (or comment). i’m very interested in finding out more about the so-called “character” of Mr. Madoff, and what turned him into the man he became.

Was their no protection for these people who lost their money. Didn’t the federal goverment ever audit his trading firm. I thought the Sarbanes Oxley Act would insure fraud like this would not happen.

Were there disclosures or perspectus of any kind given? Does anyone know?

Perhaps I’m slightly naive? but could somebody please enlighten me as why investors in Bernard Madoff’s hedge fund (with its 12% average annual returns) didn’t appear to take any interest in the much more transparent Berkshire Hathaway with its better average annual returns? Perhaps Buffett’s just too boring?!

This Guy Madoff reminds me of a guy named Jordan Bionda from Hunstville Ontario he has bilked poor unsuspecting folks with a ponzi scheme that started in the Bahamas, came to the USA and to Canada and he is continuing to do this in plain sight of the FBI and the RCMP (Canada’s equivalent). Its not surprising that the securities commission and the regulators let guys like Madoff go they simply don’t care …..an institution has to get ripped off before they take notice…case in point 7 people complained to the RCMP and the police in Ontario about the ponzi scheme Jordan Bionda runs, he has a civivl judgment against him in excess of $2 Million dollars but he could care less……..so a word to the wise if the name Jordi or Jordan Bionda is mentioned, run dont walk ….and if he or any of the Biondas are on the street, ask them to cross and let you walk past …….if you dont believe me look up a case in the Ontario Superior Court Court file Number:07-CV-346140PD3 and read for yourself you wont buy this guy a coffee the day hell freezes over

Bernie Madoff and Jordan Bionda are kindred souls just that the law hs not caught up with Jordan Bionda ….yet…..but with lawsuits swirling in every direction and the RCMP, the OPP and the York Regional Police looking at Jordan Bionda it is only a matter of time…..if you are approached by him or his family ……….stay clear away

i agree,,,,,,This Guy Madoff reminds me of a guy named Jordan Bionda from Hunstville Ontario he has bilked poor unsuspecting folks with a ponzi scheme that started in the Bahamas, came to the USA and to Canada and he is continuing to do this in plain sight of the FBI and the RCMP (Canada’s equivalent). Its not surprising that the securties commission and the regulators let guys like Madoff go they simply don’t care …..an institution has to get ripped off before they take notice…case in point 7 people complained to the RCMP and the police in Ontario about the ponzi scheme Jordan Bionda runs, he has a civil judgment against him in excess of $2 Million dollars but he could care less……..so a word to the wise if the name Jordi or Jordan Bionda is mentioned, run dont walk ….and if he or any of the Biondas are on the street, ask them to cross and let you walk past …….

Marcie Mackesy is like Bernie Madoffs wife she lives with Jordan Bionda and is assisting and conspiring with her boyfriend Jordan Bionda and his brother Joel Bionda to cheat and keep money they all stole from a lot of people…..GIVE IT BACK we will never ever give up

.,.,where does robinhood in your blog!!?i didnt find any of it

Here, we expose more “Prime Bank Note” and “bankdebenture” schemes and an advance fee fraud.More Prime Bank Note Schemes Shut DownInvestors just can’t seem to resist the promise of highyields—even if the promise is too good to be true. Since our last fraud alert, several companies offering“prime bank notes” have been shut down. These schemesgenerally promise monthly returns ranging from 30% to200% or more with “no risk.” Promoters claim to haveinside information on a “secret” world market that is avail-able only to the “super rich”—or to people who, like them,are “very well connected.” The promotions are often accompanied by an offer toassist the investor in evading taxes on his “profits.” Thepurpose of this last offer, of course, is to reduce the risk thatthe defrauded investor will ever sue or complain to regula-tors that he has been defrauded!Recent promoters of prime bank notes and similarschemes in the news include: International Financial Privacy Association, Ltd. This firm, registered in the Bahamas, was one of six individ-uals and companies named in a Temporary Cease TradingOrder issued by the Saskatchewan (Canada) SecuritiesCommission. The others are IFPA, Ltd., Peter Sheridan,Blaine Cisna and Cisna Holdings, Inc. and Mylo Berstad, all based in Melfort, Saskatchewan. Canadian Jordan Biondaruns the organization, according to research conducted byOffshore Business News & Research, Inc.10The company’sweb site at http://www.ifpaltd.com remains operational. TAC International. This Bahamian-registered compa-ny, along with founders Craig Southwood, Douglas Walker,Larry Richardson and Jan Harry “Jack” Wilde have beencharged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionand the British Columbia Securities Commission with sellingmore than US$12 million of fraudulent bank debentures.The promoters claimed returns as high as 1,300% andclaimed the debentures were traded between various “primebanks.”11Walker and Southwood have also been charged inU.S. federal court with 17 felony counts of conspiracy, mailfraud, wire fraud and money laundering.Relief Enterprises. The U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission has issued a temporary restraining order andasset freeze against this company and its principal, NancyCheal, based upon allegations that she and associates raisedmore than US$1.5 million in a prime bank investment fraudover the Internet. The company promised weekly returns of 100% with “no risk,” according to the allegations. Cheal is alleged to have run the fraud from her mobile home in Bunnell, Florida.12Wilson & World Investment Co. In yet anotherapparent case of prime bank note fraud, the U.S. SecuritiesExchange Commission has charged New York lawyer Victor Wilson with defrauding investors in the United States and Dominica of US$1.2 million. This was a scamwith a unique twist: it involved a non-existent bank, Credit Bank International Co., in the fictitious “Dominion of Melchizedek.” Wilson and his agents in Dominica are alleged to have promised investors returns of 300 % or more annually.13The Paris-based commercial crime bureau of theInternational Chamber of Commerce estimates US$10 million is “invested” in similar schemes in North Americaevery day.Advance Fee Fraud Targets EntrepreneursAnother frequently encountered scam targets entrepre-neurs seeking funding to expand their operations. There aremany variations. In one common scheme, the entrepreneuranswers an ad and is eventually “approved” for a commit-ment of, e.g., US$1 million. In return, he is asked to put upa “good-faith” deposit of US$50,000, to be held in “escrow”pending approval of the funds. Often, the victim is asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement as well. Inevitably, thefunds never appear…and the promoter, if he hasn’t disap-peared, cites an alleged violation of the non-disclosure agreement as permitting him to keep the deposit. A variation of this scheme recently was unveiled in a U.S. District Court in what the U.S. Customs Servicecalls the “largest non-drug money laundering case ever.”Authorities identified 400 victims from at least 10 countriesand said a seized computer disc could lead to hundredsmore. The scheme, which involved at least two dozen individuals, began with ads placed in The Wall Street Journal, The Robb Report, Barrons and other publications,which offered venture capital funding to persons with bad credit. Applicants were screened to determine if they could afford to pay an advance fee, which ranged fromUS$40,000 to US$2 million. Participants were required to set up an offshore corporation in Antigua, and then transfer the advance fee to a bank there. But once theirmoney reached Antigua, applicants were told that they needed to produce a letter of credit or bank payment guarantee within five to seven days for 20 percent of theloan. None of the applicants could fulfill this requirement because of their poor credit history and the advance feeswere then forfeited.14As always—caveat emptor.The Get Rich Schemes Never EndBy Mark NestmannInvestment frauds are often accompanied by an offer to assist the investor in evading taxes on his “profits.” This reduces the risk that the defrauded investor will ever sue or complain to regulators.