The (real) Madoff Fraud?

Sofa_King Good

Found this theory online. It seems viable to me at least,as there is motive that the real Madoff's
fraud will be the fraud of Llyoyds insurers and the US taxpayer.

Here are some of the main confirmed victims; http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2008/12/19/bernard-madoff-fraud-the-list-of-the-casualties-including-shell/

Looking at that list of major financial players, and some of them are professional investment institutuions, I personally find it extremely hard to believe that any of these companies, who would have teams whose sole purpose is risk assesment could fall for a pyramid scheme. You, me, or the ordinary man on the street, but not professionals. Not every single one of these intitutions and their crack teams of financial analysts.

From Bloomberg.com; “It’s mind-boggling that people like Tremont and Fairfield Greenwich had been doing this for so long,” said Brad Alford, who runs Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which helps clients choose hedge funds. “It’s the job of these funds of funds to be doing due diligence. That’s why they get paid.”

Useful advice from the FBI website,

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"Some Tips to Avoid Ponzi Schemes:[/SIZE][/FONT]

• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] As with all investments, exercise due diligence in selecting investments and the people with whom you invest. [/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Make sure you fully understand the investment before you invest your money."[/SIZE][/FONT]

In light of the fact that 30% of hedge funds are predicted to fail, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3248965/GLG-chief-Emmanuel-Roman-warns-thousands-of-hedge-funds-on-brink-of-failure-financial-crisis.html

So why plead guilty? Well due to the fact the Madoff has pleaded guilty to fraud the investors get to claim back their money due to the US governments financial fraud protection scheme. If the hedge fund had just failed they would recieve nothing. Pleading guilty also ensures that there is no need for an investigation.

Anyone have any thoughts?

WhaLofShi

I'd say he's pleading guilty because it's pretty obvious what he's done, can't find a way to construct a half decent defence and is probably in the process of doing a deal with the authorities. That's not to take away from the fact that taxpayers will be screwed again.

The list of victims is pretty atrocious and you'd expect better from them. Having said that, hedge fund managers are notorious for playing their cards very close to their chests, and the fact that Madoff was one of the most respected financial experts around, it's probably no real surprise that he managed to get away with it for so long and with such an impressive client list. Don't forget though, he didn't take just anybody's money. People and companies were invited to invest with him (in the grand tradition of any good pyramid scheme ), and he'd only take a token million or two to begin with to "ensure his clients were happy to continue investing with him". So it was probably a big deal to have Madoff approach you.

It's obvious that he's as much a victim of the credit crunch as anyone else. Without the current crisis he could have gone on for years. Similarly, Fitzpatrick in Anglo-Irish got caught with his hand in the till probably because his buddy must have let him swing by refusing to, or being unable to, "lend" him the money to keep paying his utility bills.

contact23

it will take more than a paltry 50 bill to undo the jewish hold on power, never has one group of people held such a dissproportionate grip on the power of a democratic country,it is awesome truly!