2014 February | Network For Investor Action & Protection

Fraud case jury to view Madoff video

Jurors in the fraud case of five former Bernard Madoff employees will see the Ponzi scheme architect himself — via excerpts from an Oct. 2007 video. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Friday granted granted a defense motion to stage the courtroom screening to give jurors a visual example of exactly how persuasive the disgraced financier could be. See USA Today story [...]

Five years after Stanford scandal, many victims penniless

Five years after learning they were victims of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, investors in the Stanford Financial Group say they feel abandoned, even though their losses rival those in the Madoff scam that was revealed two months earlier. Unlike the Madoff case, in which a court-appointed trustee has said he is well on his way to recovering all of the investors’ principal—estimated at $17.5 billion—Stanford victims have recovered less than one penny on the dollar since the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the firm and a court placed it in receivership on Feb. 17, 2009.
More on CNBC [...]

ALERT: S.1725 New Co-Sponsor - John Boozman

S.1725 New Co-Sponsor – Senator John Boozman [...]

S.E.C.’s Losing Streak in Court Puts Agency in Spotlight

Every litigator says that trials are messy affairs because no one can predict how they will play out. After a string of recent unfavorable verdicts in fraud cases, the Securities and Exchange Commission may, too, be concerned with that trend. The S.E.C. is a bit like the New York Yankees, because every defeat is magnified, so we should be careful not to read too much into the anecdotal evidence as garnered by the results of a few recent trials. Most cases filed by the agency are settled, garnering only modest publicity, so the effectiveness of its enforcement program is not tied solely to its wins in the courtroom. More in the New York Times [...]

Madoff employee trial winding toward close

Federal prosecutors expect to rest their case Tuesday in the months-long fraud trial of five former Bernard Madoff employees — making way for a defense case that may allow jurors to hear from the Ponzi scheme mastermind via a 2007 videotape. Government lawyers disclosed their schedule as one of their final witnesses testified that former Madoff general manager Daniel Bonventre said he closed his own account with his boss’ investment firm in 2006 because he “woke up with a sick feeling in his stomach” about the implausibility of the eerily positive gains. More on USA Today [...]

Former Madoff aides get their day in court

Four months into a criminal trial for five former employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, witnesses have made it clear that no one but Madoff himself knew the whole truth about his massive Ponzi scheme, from his top lieutenant on down. With prosecutors expected to wrap up their case on Monday, the defendants’ lawyers will try to convince a federal jury that their clients were completely in the dark, unaware that they were propping up an unprecedented fraud. More on Reuters [...]

McGinn-Smith Victims to benefit from H.R. 3482

H.R. 3482 and S.1725, Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act serves to benefit McGinn-Smith victims as well. As indicated in Senator Schumer’s Press Release:
” In the case of the McGinn-Smith, Schumer’s plan would require SIPC to compensate the 900 investors that suffered $136 million in total losses, if the SEC refers the case to SIPC. Schumer has urged the SEC numerous times to refer the McGinn-Smith case to SIPC, but the SEC declined to do so after its referral of a case with similar facts – the Stanford Financial Group case – was overturned in court. Schumer explained that if his legislation gets passed, he would again urge the SEC to refer the McGinn-Smith case to SIPC, and argued that the similarity to the Stanford case, which the SEC did refer to SIPC, would give McGinn-Smith victims a strong argument on the merits. Schumer’s bill would also provide the SEC with additional flexibility to determine who qualifies for SIPC protection, which will help encourage their referral. Thus, Schumer’s legislation would open the door for McGinn-Smith victims to seek remuneration from SIPC.”
McGinn-Smith victims – we encourage and invite you to join NIAP – Network for Investor Action and Protection, and together we can move this much needed legislation forward. Click here to join – membership is [...]

Judge allows JPMorgan to settle Madoff lawsuits for $543M

A federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved JPMorgan Chase & Co’s $543 million deal to end two private lawsuits stemming from its relationship with convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff. A spokeswoman for the trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities confirmed that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein approved the agreement, which was made public on Jan. 7, the same day federal authorities announced the bank had agreed to pay more than $2 billion to settle criminal charges related to the Madoff fraud. More on CNBC [...]

Madoff Ex-Aides Seen Facing Hurdle With ‘Duped’ Defense

Five former aides to Bernard Madoff are seen as facing tough odds in trying to convince a jury they were innocent bystanders to the con man’s $17 billion fraud, given what one lawyer called the “avalanche” of evidence presented by prosecutors. After months of testimony by Madoff accomplices, industry experts and former clerical staff, the three men and two women on trial since October will begin presenting their defense cases as soon as today in Manhattan federal court. The defendants have pleaded not guilty and claim Madoff duped them. More on Bloomberg [...]

ALERT: Two new Co-sponsors sign on to H.R. 3482

Two new Co-sponsors sign on to H.R. 3482 – Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act
Representatives Scott Tipton (CO3) and Steven Palazzo (MS4) have signed on to H.R. [...]

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