fraud

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As End Neared, Madoff Shook Down Friends

Desperate for cash, Bernie promoted new funds, begged partners

(Newser) - As his fraudulent fund was sinking, a desperate Bernard Madoff demanded friends and investors pour in more cash, the New York Post reports. Carl Shapiro, the first person to invest with Madoff, got a call, as did his son-in-law, and close Madoff friend Robert Jaffe. Shapiro is reportedly among the...

Madoff Scam Proves Wall St. Incompetence
Madoff Scam Proves Wall St. Incompetence
OPINION
Dec 17, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Madoff Scam Proves Wall St. Incompetence

Drastic regs needed, and be sure financial firms will resist

(Newser) - If the Bernard Madoff scandal teaches us anything, it’s that Wall Street’s masters “aren’t just too clever by half,” writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post, “they’re not clever at all.” They didn’t just get “bamboozled by a con artist,...

Middlemen Lose Billions in Madoff Fraud

Hedge funds that sold access to Ponzi scheme face collapse

(Newser) - Last week Walter Noel was a successful hedge fund manager, with houses from Connecticut to the Caribbean and an adulatory photo shoot in Vanity Fair. But overnight, when Bernie Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme was exposed, his $14.1 billion firm, Fairfield Greenwich Group, lost more than half its assets. While...

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M
 'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M 
Dec 16, 2008 4:23 PM CST

'Vati-Con' Agrees to Pay $3.6M

Ann Hathaway's ex says he wants to repay fraud victims, but may be too broke

(Newser) - Raffaello Follieri, the jailed ex-boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway who used alleged connections to the pope to scam investors, has agreed to return $3.6 million to victims, including two priests and celeb-billionaire Ron Burkle. It’s a small chunk of the $13 million the “Vati-Con” is accused of...

Big Names Bilked in $50B Madoff Fraud

Swindler was money manager of choice in elite circles

(Newser) - Some of America's wealthiest people are finding themselves a lot poorer in the wake of the Bernard Madoff fund scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports. Madoff strived to become known as the investor of choice in elite circles, and counted New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and GMAC chairman Ezra...

Web Unravels Around Lawyer Held in Fraud

Allegedly duped victims of millions in tale of deception, bravado

(Newser) - A bizarre case is unfolding around Marc Dreier, the Yale- and Harvard-educated Manhattan attorney arrested Sunday for his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to sell hundreds of millions in forged, phony debt. Investigators contend his scams were nothing more than brazen confidence games in which he leveraged his position,...

The 11th Commandment: 'Thou Shalt Not Forge'

Unscrupulous scholars fake history to make a buck

(Newser) - Fraudulent biblical artifacts come a dime a dozen, but reputable archaeologists are turning out to be far less common, Nina Burleigh writes in the Los Angeles Times. The latest example involves an Israeli collector who claimed to have relics from the time of Christ. Declaring the items forgeries, authorities prosecuted...

Former French PM Accused In Sarko Scandal

De Villepin will stand trial on false money- laundering accusation

(Newser) - Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin will face trial for his role in an alleged smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy, who outmaneuvered him for the presidency. The "Clearstream Affair" scandal dates to 2004, when an anonymous source sent a judge a list of politicians, including Sarkozy, said...

High-Profile Arts Patron Guilty of 12 Fraud Counts

Alberto Vilar cheated investors to pay debts, fund opera companies

(Newser) - Alberto Vilar, the investment banker and one of the world's most generous opera patrons, was convicted yesterday on 12 counts of fraud, Bloomberg reports. Vilar told investors that he was putting their money in safe, government-backed assets; in fact, he bought risky tech stocks on margin, which quickly tanked. Vilar...

Subprime Crime Wave Floods FBI Casebook

(Newser) - A short-staffed FBI is laboring to keep up with white collar crime linked to the nation's financial crisis, the New York Times reports. FBI officials predicted millions of dollars' in mortgage fraud years ago, but the Justice Department wanted agents focused on counter-terror. When the FBI warned of a fraud...

As Foreclosures Rise, Fraud Cases Balloon

Equity scammers take advantage of ignorant, desperate owners

(Newser) - Running parallel with spiking foreclosure rates, so-called “foreclosure rescue scams” have reached epic proportions, and many state and local agencies aren't equipped to fight back, MSNBC reports. Companies that promise to help floundering property owners keep their homes and avoid the stigma of foreclosure are instead milking them for...

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
ANALYSIS
Sep 17, 2008 4:37 PM CDT

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role

Critics say agency has gotten soft, especially against big business

(Newser) - Under chairman Christopher Cox, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has drastically reduced the power of its enforcement division, Portfolio reports. Cox was brought in to “chill it out” after his predecessor was perhaps too zealous for White House tastes. Congress chided Cox for essentially turning down more funding,...

Passport Frauds Used Identities of Deceased

Fake documents used by illegal immigrants, military deserters

(Newser) - More than 100 people stole the identities of dead people to cover up their immigration status, military desertion or drunken-driving convictions, federal authorities say after an investigation called “Operation Deathmatch.” Some of the accused even hid their true selves from spouses and children, and had been using the...

S. African Court Throws Out Zuma Graft Case

Ruling clears way for leader to become president

(Newser) - A South African court has thrown out a corruption case against Jacob Zuma, effectively clearing the way for him to become president next year. The judge ruled that the charges—including 12 counts of fraud, four of corruption, and one each of racketeering and money laundering—were invalid because he...

Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea
 Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea
Sep 10, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Hathaway's Ex Cops a Plea

Admits laundered money used to fund his lavish lifestyle

(Newser) - Wearing prison attire, Raffaelo Follieri pleaded guilty today to 14 federal counts of fraud and money laundering, Reuters reports. "I knew what I was doing was wrong," actress Anne Hathaway's ex said as he admitted misrepresenting his ties to the Vatican and using investors' money to fund his...

Hathaway's Ex Considers Copping Plea

High-living Follieri weighs deal with feds on fraud charges

(Newser) - Italian entrepreneur Raffaello Follieri may plead guilty as soon as today to fraud and money-laundering, the Wall Street Journal reports. Anne Hathaway's ex could still opt for a trial. He faces federal charges that carry a sentence of up to 5 years, even with the plea deal, but the government's...

Scientology Facing Trial for Fraud in France

Woman charges church bilked her out of $28K for supplies, drugs

(Newser) - An imminent court case could lead to the Church of Scientology being banned in France, the BBC reports, with the controversial sect being accused of organized fraud by a former congregant. The woman claims she was suckered by the offer of a free personality test, and wound up spending more...

Feds Charge Brokers in $1B Subprime Fraud

Credit Suisse pair told clients debt backed by student loans, not risky mortgages: SEC

(Newser) - Federal regulators today charged two Wall Street brokers with defrauding their customers by making more than $1 billion in unauthorized purchases of securities tied to subprime mortgages. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the Credit Suisse Securities employees led corporate customers to believe that securities being purchased in their accounts...

Hackers Spread Coupon Scam
 Hackers Spread Coupon Scam 
Aug 27, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Hackers Spread Coupon Scam

Online fakes could cost millions, and take years, to clean up

(Newser) - An online coupon scam could cost manufacturers millions, and years, to clean up, the Seattle Times reports. A California company says coupons it created as part of a marketing pitch were hacked and distributed across the internet. The firm responded by canceling all coupons related to the scheme, embarrassing even...

Medicare Fudged Fraud Figures: Report

Claims to have cut bogus charges overstated

(Newser) - Medicare's boasts of having reduced fraud by billions are misleading, a draft report obtained by the New York Times finds. Auditors were told to ignore procedures that would have accurately measured fraudulent claims for medical equipment, the draft report says.   Proper methods would have revealed an estimated $2.8...

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