Former Nasdaq Chairmain Bernard Madoff Arrested By FBI For Fraud (Photos)

Bernard Madoff, the founder of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities and a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, was arrested on Thursday for fraud of more than $50 billion! Read more on this huge ponzi scheme.

According to the criminal complaint, Mr Madoff told a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent on Thursday that there was “no innocent explanation” for his actions and said that he had personally traded and lost money for institutional clients.

He said that he “paid investors with money that wasn’t there”, that he was “broke” and “insolvent” and that he had decided that it “could not go on”, according to the complaint.

Mr Madoff, who was also charged separately by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, was accused of perpetrating a multibillion-dollar so-called “Ponzi” scheme on advisory clients of his firm since at least 2005.

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The SEC complaint said that Mr Madoff, in his Manhattan apartment, informed senior employees on Wednesday that his investment advisory business was a fraud.

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He told these employees that he was “finished”, that he had “absolutely nothing”, that “it’s all just one big lie”, and that it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme”.

Madoff managed money on behalf of fund of hedge funds and wealthy individuals and any losses at his firm could be expected to ripple widely through the financial world, particularly in Europe.

Tremont Capital Management, a fund of hedge funds, has some exposure to Mr Madoff, people familiar with the matter said. Montieth Illingworth, a spokesman for Tremont, declined to comment.

The SEC, which had about 16 examiners on-site last night, said on Thursday that it was seeking emergency relief for investors, including an asset freeze, and the appointment of a receiver for the firm.

Calls to Dan Horwitz, his lawyer, were not immediately returned. He was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Mr Madoff “is a longstanding leader in the financial services industry. We will fight to get through this unfortunate set of events. He’s a person of integrity”.

Images: PR

Source: news

Posted by: Monya

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