fraud

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Stanford May Have Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel

FBI money laundering probe predated SEC swoop on financier

(Newser) - Fugitive financier R. Allen Stanford was under investigation over possible ties to a Mexican drug cartel long before the SEC swooped in on his firm, federal authorities tell ABC News. The FBI and other agencies began probing Stanford on suspicion of money laundering a year ago, after Mexican authorities detained...

SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs
SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs
Feb 19, 2009 5:24 AM CST

SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs

Minor fines levied for violations that should have been red flags

(Newser) - Years of SEC probes into the Stanford Group's finances resulted in wrist-slaps for violations that experts believe should have been huge red flags for investigators, the New York Times reports. The firm, suspected of engaging in an $8 billion fraud, paid out just $60,000 in the past 2 years...

Antigua, Stanford's Banking Base, Braces

Account holders line up to withdraw money, despite assurances from PM

(Newser) - The SEC's allegations of fraud against R. Allen Stanford prompted concern on the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua, the base of the financier's bank. Despite reassurances from the prime minister, customers lined up at both branches of the Bank of Antigua to make withdrawals yesterday. Some seemed to emerge with...

Stanford Spent Millions to Lobby Congress

$8B scammer's island junkets helped push anti-tax agenda

(Newser) - Billionaire R. Allen Stanford has spent millions of dollars in attempting to enlist high-powered Washington officials in his anti-tax efforts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Stanford’s investment companies spent over $5 million on lobbying, $2 million on campaign contributions, and thousands more on flying members of Congress to the...

Lawyer Bolted From Stanford, Sparking $8B SEC Action

Attorney 'disaffirmed' earlier statements

(Newser) - A Washington attorney who represented R. Allen Stanford’s Antigua-based bank quit his post and recanted testimony to investigators last week, sparking the SEC’s public accusations of “massive, ongoing fraud,” Bloomberg reports. Stanford is suspected of misrepresenting the safety of $8 billion invested with his various financial...

Who Is Sir Allen Stanford (Other Than $8B Scammer)?

(Newser) - Alleged fraudster R. Allen Stanford may not have been a household name before the SEC accused him of skullduggery yesterday, but not because he’s been keeping a low profile. Calling himself “Sir” Allen Stanford ever since he was knighted in Antigua in 2006, the colorful financier is the...

Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart
Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart
OPINION
Feb 18, 2009 1:48 AM CST

Fugitive Financier Has $8B Headstart

SEC has slim chance of finding Stanford, missing stash

(Newser) - Financier Robert Allen Stanford is now a fugitive and SEC officials don't look any likelier to get their man than his investors do to get their money back, Felix Salmon writes in Portfolio. Regulators have been sniffing around his operations for long enough to ensure he's got a contingency plan...

SEC Accuses Texas Firm of 'Massive Fraud'

$8B missing, bank barring withdrawals from offshore accounts

(Newser) - The SEC today accused Robert Allen Stanford, head honcho of Stanford Financial group, of running a “massive, ongoing fraud,” and roughly 40 policemen and other law enforcement officials raided the group’s Houston headquarters. The group sold $8 billion in certificates of deposit with abnormally high rates of...

Financial Fraud Investigations Overwhelm FBI

Enron-style crisis in mortgage, bailout cases looms

(Newser) - The mortgage crisis and the billions of bailout dollars finding their way into circulation have spawned a surge in fraud cases that already is straining federal law enforcement resources, reports the Los Angeles Times. The FBI is stretched to the limit by 2,300 current investigations—but just 38 are...

Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds
Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds
Feb 12, 2009 2:23 AM CST

Madoff Scam Zaps Key Science Funds

Medical research set back years as bilked charities slash aid

(Newser) - Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme is sending shockwaves deep into the worlds of medicine and science as scammed charitable foundations yank funding for key research projects, reports the Wall Street Journal. Experts believe the number of people affected by the scam's impact on health care could run into the millions....

Madoff's Wife Withdrew $15.5M Days Before Arrest

Deadline for criminal indictment extended 30 days

(Newser) - Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million from a Madoff-related brokerage firm the day before her husband was arrested, according to a complaint filed by Massachusetts’ secretary of state, the Wall Street Journal reports. She also withdrew $5.5 million a few weeks earlier, according to documents from Cohmad Securities, which Bernie...

Facebook 'Friend' Emergency Latest Online Scam

Cybercriminals hijack Facebook accounts to pose as friends in crisis

(Newser) - Fraudsters posing as friends who need emergency cash are scamming Facebook users out of thousands of dollars, CNN reports. Criminals filch Facebook identities, then bombard their friends with desperate-sounding messages pleading for money. The scammers often claim to have been robbed in a foreign country and beg the friend to...

See Full List of Madoff Victims (Sandy Koufax, Too)

(Newser) - Baseball legend Sandy Koufax has joined the list of Bernie Madoff's victims, the New York Post reports. And the Dodger great isn't even the only pitcher: former Met Tim Teuful is an unwelcome teammate. A complete list of victims in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme was made public today after...

Madoff Whistleblower Slams SEC's 'Financial Illiteracy'

(Newser) - The fraud investigator who tried for a decade to convince the SEC to investigate Bernie Madoff will deride the board's "financial illiteracy" before a Congressional panel today, according to prepared testimony obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Whistleblower Harry Markopolos will also testify that investigating Madoff "posed great...

Madoff Grandkids May Change Name
Madoff Grandkids May Change Name 
Feb 2, 2009 8:57 AM CST

Madoff Grandkids May Change Name

It's not easy being related to a Ponzi schemer

(Newser) - What to do if you’re the innocent grandchild of a Ponzi schemer, feeling the public backlash at your ritzy uptown prep school? Change your name—at least, that’s what the family of Bernie Madoff is considering for his grandkids, the New York Post reports. Good luck, little Madoffs—...

Cache of Madoff Evidence Found in Warehouse

Bernie 'sick' of house arrest in $7M Park Ave. apartment: source

(Newser) - Investigators are going over millions of documents found in a Queens warehouse that may shed light on Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, the New York Daily News reports. The warehouse was used to store records from Madoff Investment Securities, spanning the firm’s decades-long history.

Phony Ad Clicks at Record High
 Phony Ad Clicks at Record High 
Jan 28, 2009 4:07 PM CST

Phony Ad Clicks at Record High

Click fraud rate climbs to 17.1% in fourth quarter of 2008

(Newser) - Fraudulent attempts to deceive web advertisers into paying for phony clicks reached an all-time high in the last quarter of 2008, CNET reports. The rate of phony to genuine clicks climbed to 17.1% in the fourth quarter, increasing 1.1% from the third quarter and 0.5% from the...

Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf
 Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf 
Jan 27, 2009 11:37 AM CST

Guess Who Also Cheats at Golf

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s golf buddies knew something was up. No, not the whole global Ponzi scheme thing, which many would lose fortunes in. But something did seem fishy about his golf handicap. Madoff played off a 14 or 15, says one participant from a May tournament, but it should have...

New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted
 New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted 
Jan 27, 2009 6:09 AM CST

New York 'Mini-Madoff' Busted

Cops accuse New York financier of scamming investors out of millions

(Newser) - New York police have busted a financier accused of running a Ponzi scheme, Reuters reports. Nick Cosmo—sentenced to 21 months on swindling charges in 1999—may have bilked investors of up to $380 million through his firm Agape World, which claimed to make high-interest bridge loans, according to authorities....

Trust Fund Teens TP Madoff Mansion

Pranksters blast accused swindler for wiping out future fortunes

(Newser) - Pranksters whose future fortunes were battered by accused swindler Bernard Madofff festooned his tony Palm Beach digs with toilet paper over the weekend, reports the Palm Beach Post. Teenage boys called the newspaper to claim responsibility for the guerrilla tactic and blasted Madoff for wiping out their trust funds. The...

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