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NIAP Update - December 26th, 2012

HEADLINES:

• 4th Year Anniversary: Madoff Victims still await Congress and the Courts
• Improved Prospects for SIPC legislation in 2013: Chairman Garrett and Co-sponsors to Reintroduce SIPC legislation beginning with December marker bill, new legislation will follow
• NIAP and Stanford Victims Coalition form Investor Protection Alliance to help press for passage of legislation
• The Courts and the SEC: US Appellate Court to take up appeal of victims’ suits against the SEC; NIAP files Amicus Brief in support
• The Courts: Victims still [...]

Bernie Madoff’s Younger Brother Gets to Emulate Him Once More, With Ten Years in Prison

Bernie Madoff’s younger brother Peter always craved his sibling’s acceptance, friends wrote in letters to a judge before Peter Madoff’s sentencing on Thursday, where his lawyer described him as a victim of his own loyalty. So he joined the family business instead of pursuing a career with the SEC, and he helped Bernie Madoff keep his actions hidden from regulators as compliance officer of their investment firm (though he’s not charged with knowing about the Ponzi scheme itself). And now he’s following his older brother to prison, the only other member of the Madoff family to be charged in the $17.3 billion scam. Those letters of support are unique, though, The New York Times points out: “The 63 character references stood in stark contrast to his brother’s sentencing, when the judge in that case noted that he had not received a single supportive letter.” They didn’t change anything for him. More in New York Magazine [...]

Peter Madoff Gets 10 Years for His Role in Brother’s Ponzi Fraud

Peter Madoff, who pleaded guilty to aiding Bernard Madoff’s fraud while claiming he didn’t know his older brother was running a vast, decades-long Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain yesterday sentenced Peter Madoff after considering pleas from victims of the fraud that she not show him any mercy. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Madoff agreed not to seek less than the maximum 10- year prison term allowed by law. More on Bloomberg Businessweek [...]

GARRETT INTRODUCES UPDATE TO HR757!

H.R. 6695 — REVISED SIPC BILL INTRODUCED!
GARRETT EMPHASIZES COMMITMENT TO LEGISLATION IN 2013

HR.6695 To amend the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to confirm that a customer’s net equity claim is based on the customer’s last statement and that certain recoveries are prohibited, to change how trustees are appointed, and for other purposes.

On December 20, House Sub-Committee Chairman Scott Garrett introduced to the House of Representatives “a revised and strengthened version of H.R. 757.” According to the Congressman, “The introduction of this bill before the adjournment of the 112th Congress is to post a marker of our intentions for the work of the 113th Congress.” Based on Garrett’s October letter to NIAP members, this marker legislation is the first of a series of steps toward passage of SIPC legislation in the 113th Congress designed to assist both Madoff and Stanford victims.

Mr. Garrett concludes his remarks by saying “This will be the opening step in educating the Congress, the public and the media of the sadly mistaken course be pursued by the SIPC and the failure of adequate judicial review.”

Needless to say, we are extremely pleased that Congressman pressed forward with this legislation, particularly given the other pressing issues Congress is currently facing. It is especially welcome news at this time, and it lays an important foundation for movement early next year. More information, including language, will follow. Please also look for our forthcoming Anniversary Update.
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Madoff’s younger brother faces sentencing in Ponzi case

Bernard Madoff’s younger brother is scheduled to face a U.S. judge on Thursday who will weigh whether to sentence him to 10 years in prison for his role in the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Peter Madoff, 67, pleaded guilty in June to criminal charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud and for falsifying books and records of the investment advisory company founded by his brother. He agreed at the time not to oppose a request by prosecutors for a maximum 10-year prison sentence and agreed to an order requiring him to forfeit a symbolic $143 billion (90 billion pounds), guaranteeing a loss of all of his assets and income. More on Reuters [...]

Meet The Madoff Victims That Profited From Their Investment

It could be likened to the legal version of winning the lottery – a group of investors in Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme, once on the brink of having their $141 million claim denied and instead facing a $28 million clawback lawsuit, now stand to not only recover their initial investment but to legally realize a sizeable profit from the largest Ponzi scheme in history. But such a remarkable outcome- indeed, the first in memory – was not typical, and is due in large part to a clever legal strategy featuring multiple parties, multiple lawsuits, and, of course, deep pockets. More in Forbes [...]

MF Global Cases Focus on ‘Letters’

Thousands of former MF Global Holdings Ltd. MFGLQ -5.08% customers still don’t have a chunk of their money more than a year after the brokerage firm’s collapse. But some of its big clients largely avoided similar losses, thanks to arrangements struck with the firm before its demise. These clients include energy-trading heavyweights ConocoPhillips COP +0.08% and Koch Industries Inc. They are now battling in court against a trustee who says they owe him funds. More in the Wall Street Journal [...]

MF Global judge wary of letting customers depose Corzine

NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) – A bankruptcy judge responded on Wednesday with skepticism to a request by former MF Global customers to depose the collapsed brokerage’s former chief Jon Corzine. At a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Judge Martin Glenn said he doubted whether the Commodity Customer Coalition, a grassroots advocate group for customers hurt by MF Global’s 2011 bankruptcy, had legal standing to subpoena and depose Corzine and other former executives. “The coalition is not a creditor” of MF Global even though it represents customers who are creditors, Glenn said. “It is an inanimate entity.” Glenn said he would wait to make an official ruling. More on Reuters [...]

The SEC Gets Its Groove Back

It won’t likely come as big news to Elisse Walter, the new interim head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who is replacing Mary Schapiro, that the securities industry will be significantly transformed in 2013. For Walter, it’s going to be a continuing baptism by fire. The transformation will be more decisive, perhaps, than anything we’ve seen during the last four turbulent years, in large part because of the Dodd-Frank rule-making and implementation that now confront the SEC. As Christopher Garcia observes, there are an “obscene” number of rules yet to be proposed, finalized, and implemented – hundreds of them, with many having potentially significant implications for the banks. The Volcker Rule is only the most obvious example, adds Garcia, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. Read more in Forbes [...]

Madoff Brother A ‘Victim’, Lawyer Says As Sentencing Looms

Six months after admitting he aided his brother’s massive Ponzi scheme, Peter Madoff is calling himself a victim of the $65 billion scam in a bid for consideration at sentencing. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, the 67-year-old Madoff will receive 10 years in prison and will forfeit up to $143.1 billion. Madoff, who served as his brother’s chief compliance officer, admitted to falsifying documents and evading taxes, but insisted that he had no knowledge of his brother’s fraud until two days before Bernard Madoff was arrested four years ago. Madoff is to be sentenced on Thursday.
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