FICRY

What is it about the FICRY that is making all the crooked millionaires and billionaires slither out of their holes like slugs after a thunderstorm? First we had Bernie Madoff, whose illegal activities were so wide-ranging and complex, they may have to rename the term “Ponzi scheme” after him. Now we have the (formerly) honorable [...]

Sonja Kohn, former chairwoman of Austria’s Bank Medici AG, is currently under investigation for allegedly receiving kickbacks from Bernie Madoff. U.S., U.K., and Austrian investigators believe Madoff paid Kohn over $40 million to funnel billions of dollars in European investments into “feeder funds” for Madoff’s scheme. Officials estimate she supplied Madoff with up to $3.5 [...]

There’s a great story in Herodotus about two men who lived very different lives.  The first man lived a rather miserable life until his final few years when everything turned around for him – he found his long lost family, he became very wealthy, or something like that, etc.  The second man was very happy [...]

The Wall Street Journal published the first statement issued by Ruth Madoff, wife of Ponzi schemer extraordiaire Bernnie.
By Ruth Madoff: I am breaking my silence now, because my reluctance to speak has been interpreted as indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie’s crime, which is exactly the opposite of [...]

The SEC filed the first in a series of lawsuits against brokers who directed investments Madoff’s fraudulent way. The Wall Street Journal reports that Cohmad Securities Corporation, a registered broker dealer, and three of its high-ranking officials funneled billions of dollars into Madoff’s hands in exchange for mere hundreds-of-millions of dollars in kickbacks. Those named [...]

James Amburn, a financial advisor in Speyer, Germany, was recently kidnapped and tortured by investors who blame him for losing £2million of their savings. As Amburn left his home, the kidnappers ambushed him, bound him in masking tape, and forced him into a car. After 300 miles of driving, they then led him into a [...]

Some Madoff investments didn’t end in tragedy. In fact, some of them were unbelievably lucrative. Federal investigations have revealed Madoff wasn’t the biggest beneficiary in his own Ponzi scheme. Jeffrey Picower belonged to a small group of executives that received returns on his investment well beyond the average 10-12% gains Madoff reported for the majority [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission, offered new details about the Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme, including the BRIBING OF AN S.E.C REGULATOR. Prosecutors allege King accepted more than $100,000 in bribes to help Stanford continue his fraud of 30,000 investors. If convicted of all charges in the 21-count indictment, Stanford could face as much as [...]

(AP) — Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, chairman of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, surrendered to FBI agents in Virginia Thursday afternoon, his attorney said. Law enforcement officials said Stanford is in custody after surrendering in Stafford, Virginia. Authorities plan to unseal an indictment charging Stanford on Friday, the officials said, speaking on condition [...]

You know me, but you may not know you know me.  I am the white-collar stoner. Like millions of my fellow white-collar stoners, when I return home from my Sisyphean nine to five, I smoke a joint.  Not every day.  No, some days I fire up my vaporizer or pull out the old zong [...]