2009 April | ACRIMONEY, The Wild Wild World of Wealth

Date archive for April, 2009

Boot TARP•o•line Bonuses
29 April 09 • Comments Off

As Citigroup rolls toward one-third ownership by the US government, it needs Federal approval to pay the bonuses. My take on the matter:
Forget it. Figure out another solution. Or let executives walk.
Financial Fraud: Neighborhood Watch
27 April 09 • Comments Off

We can also learn from the past, no matter how sordid. That’s why I created The World Atlas of Financial Scandals. It shows the whereabouts of financial fraud—past and present. I’ll add to the map on a regular basis. Please send me links to breaking stories that are relevant.
Ponzi 401(k)
25 April 09 • Comments Off

Need a little boost for your retirement income?
The Ponzi schemes keep coming. I just noticed that an 82-year-old man orchestrated a $17 million fraud in Buffalo. He ran ads, according to The Buffalo News, that proclaimed, “Earn more, worry less.”
Ponzi Block Party
22 April 09 • 4 comments
PalmBeachDailyNews.com just reported a new $23 million Ponzi scheme. I’m almost surprised this one made the news. These days $23 million sounds like a rounding error. It’s .04 percent—that’s .0004—of Bernie Madoff’s $65 billion effort. It’s .29 percent of the alleged, $8 billion fraud orchestrated by Allen Stanford.
I love to run the numbers.
Geography, not dollar size, is the headline here. And it’s mind-numbing.
The $20 Million Ponzi Stimulus Package
21 April 09 • Comments Off

In Dallas, attorneys have petitioned the courts to free $10 million of Allen Stanford’s frozen assets. This sum will pay about half his legal fees. Lawyers further estimate that ligation costs will exceed $20 million by the time all the snarling stops and there is peace, or at least resolution, among the various parties. I can’t help but wonder:
What’s the fair cost of representation?
Raiders of the Rubber Chicken Circuit
17 April 09 • Comments Off

Not another Ponzi scheme. The lineup of disgraced financiers is growing. Danny Pang is the newest entrant. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal (“WSJ”) reported that authorities are investigating his firm for…you guessed it…a Ponzi scheme. At stake are $4 billion in assets under the control of Private Equity Management Group. The picture in [...]