Expanding the Ponzi Scheme Presumption
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Effect of Pyramid Schemes to the Economy of the Country - Case of Tanzania
International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 5, Issue 1 (2017) ISSN 2320–4044 (Online) Effect of pyramid schemes to the Economy of the Country - Case of Tanzania Theobald Francis Kipilimba come up with appropriate laws and mechanisms that will stop Abstract— Pyramid scheme, in their various forms, are not a those unscrupulous people praying on unsuspecting new thing in the world, however, they have reared their ugly individuals. Help supervisory institutions formulate menacing heads‘ in the Tanzanians society only recently. Before the appropriate policies that will require all investment plans to Development entrepreneurship Community Initiative (DECI) debacle be documented, filed and thoroughly scrutinized and come up other schemes such as Women Empowering, woman had already with the ways to recover assets of the culprits and use them to racked havoc in the society.This study intended to evaluate the extent compensate the victims of get rich quick schemes. to which Tanzanians knew about the pyramid schemes operating in the world, their participation in these schemes and their general feelings towards the scammers, our judicial system and the course II. BASIC VIEW OF PYRAMID SCHEME action they are likely to take in the event they are scammed. Results Pyramid scheme is a fraudulent moneymaking scheme in show that most Tanzanians are very naïve when it comes to pyramid which people are recruited to make payments to others above schemes, with very scant knowledge about these schemes. Many do them in a hierocracy while expecting to receive payments not know if they have participated in these schemes but in those instances that they had, they suffered huge financial losses. -
The Economics of Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Schemes
The Economics of Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Schemes JT Hamrick, Farhang Rouhi, Arghya Mukherjee, Amir Feder, Neil Gandal, Tyler Moore, and Marie Vasek∗ Abstract The surge of interest in cryptocurrencies has been accompanied by a pro- liferation of fraud. This paper examines pump and dump schemes. The recent explosion of nearly 2,000 cryptocurrencies in an unregulated environment has expanded the scope for abuse. We quantify the scope of cryptocurrency pump and dump on Discord and Telegram, two popular group-messaging platforms. We joined all relevant Telegram and Discord groups/channels and identified nearly 5,000 different pumps. Our findings provide the first measure of the scope of pumps and suggest that this phenomenon is widespread and prices often rise significantly. We also examine which factors affect the pump's \suc- cess." 1 Introduction As mainstream finance invests in cryptocurrency assets and as some countries take steps toward legalizing bitcoin as a payment system, it is important to understand how susceptible cryptocurrency markets are to manipulation. This is especially true since cryptocurrency assets are no longer a niche market. The market capitaliza- tion of all cryptocurrencies exceeded $800 Billion at the end of 2017. Even after the huge fall in valuations, the market capitalization of these assets is currently around $140 Billion. This valuation is greater than the fifth largest U.S. commer- cial bank/commercial bank holding company in 2018, Morgan Stanley, which has a market capitalization of approximately $100 Billion.1 In this paper, we examine a particular type of price manipulation: the \pump and dump" scheme. These schemes inflate the price of an asset temporarily so a ∗Hamrick: University of Tulsa, [email protected]. -
Naïve Or Desperate? Investors Continue to Be Swindled by Investment Schemes. Jonathan Hafen
Naïve or Desperate? Investors continue to be swindled by investment schemes. Jonathan Hafen Though the economy appears to be rebounding, many investors are still feeling the sting of having lost hefty percentages of their savings. Lower interest rates and returns on traditionally low risk investments put investors in a vulnerable position where they may feel the need to "catch up" to where they were a few years ago. Investors, particularly if they are elderly, trying to find better than prevailing returns may let their guard down to seemingly legitimate swindlers offering high return, "low-risk" investments. Fraudulent investment schemes come in all shapes and sizes, but generally have two common elements-they seem too good to be true and they are too good to be true. Eighty years ago, Charles Ponzi created his namesake scheme and investors are still falling for virtually identical scams today. Ponzi schemes promise either fixed rates of return above the prevailing market or exorbitant returns ranging from 45% to 100% and more. Early investors receive monthly, quarterly or annual interest from the cash generated from a widening pool of investors. Of course, they are receiving nothing more than a small portion of their own money back. The illusion of profit keeps the duped investors satisfied and delays the realization they have been tricked. Early investors usually play a part in keeping the scheme alive by telling friends or family of their good fortune. They essentially become references for new investors, which makes them unwitting accomplices. These scams always collapse under their own weight because new investments eventually slow and cannot sustain the rate of return promised as the number of investors grows. -
History and Nature of Ponzi Schemes Page 1 of 3
History and Nature of Ponzi Schemes Page 1 of 3 SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT Thayer Watkins History and Nature of Ponzi Schemes In August of 1919 Charles Ponzi in Boston received from an acquaintance in Italy an International Postal Reply Coupon. These coupons had been created to handle small international transactions. The recipients of such coupons could exchange them in at their local post office for stamps. Ponzi noticed that the coupon he had received from Italy had been purchased in Spain and found that the reason for this was that the price in Spain was exceptionally low. In fact, the cost of the International Postal Reply Coupon in Spain, given the current exchange rate between the Spanish peseta and the dollar, was only one sixth the value of the U.S. postage stamps it could be traded for in the U.S. This seemed to be an extraordinary opportunity for arbitage. Ponzi envisioned a massive money making scheme in which dollars funds would be converted into Spanish pesetas to use to purchase International Postal Reply Coupons which would be sent to the U.S. to be redeemed in U.S. postage stamps which could then be sold for dollars. To Ponzi this seemed the opening to fast, unlimited profits. The problem with the scheme was that if anyone began to exploit the discrepancies in the prices of International Postal Reply Coupons in different countries the discrepancies would be corrected and the profit opportunity would disappear. Ponzi founded a company to expoit the profit opportunity in International Postal Reply Coupons. -
Howard R. Elisofon Partner; Co-Chair, Securities Litigation and Enforcement [email protected] (212) 592-1437 PHONE (212) 545-3366 FAX
Howard R. Elisofon Partner; Co-Chair, Securities Litigation and Enforcement [email protected] (212) 592-1437 PHONE (212) 545-3366 FAX Howard Elisofon is a nationally renowned litigator with more than 35 years of experience in securities law and enforcement. Howard began his career as trial counsel for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. He subsequently worked in a variety of senior legal positions at Prudential Securities and First New York Securities, where he obtained his Series 7 and Series 24 licenses, and then in private practice at Greenberg Traurig LLP, where he was a founding member of the firm’s New York office. As co-chair of Herrick’s Securities Litigation and Enforcement practice, Howard focuses on securities and commodities litigation, arbitration, mediation and investigations for broker- dealers, brokerage firms, investment advisers, investment companies, venture capital firms and insurance companies, as well as securities traders and industry executives. He represents clients in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters, as well as enforcement proceedings before the SEC, the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys, the New York State Attorney General and New York State District Attorneys, as well as FINRA and various exchanges, and state securities and insurance regulators. A frequent speaker on securities and enforcement related topics, and a sought-after authority on broker-dealer issues, Howard’s commentary is often featured in major media outlets. High-Profile Government Investigations and Litigation Howard has defended clients in numerous high-profile government investigations, including the Drexel Burnham/Ivan Boesky insider trading matter, the Prudential Securities limited partnership fraud scandal, the Prudential market timing investigation and the Stanford Ponzi scheme. -
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT of NEW YORK ------X SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION : CORPORATION, : Plaintiff, : : ‒ Against ‒ : : Adv
10-04818-smb Doc 37 Filed 06/02/15 Entered 06/02/15 15:40:26 Main Document Pg 1 of 86 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ---------------------------------------------------------------X SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION : CORPORATION, : Plaintiff, : : ‒ against ‒ : : Adv. Pro. No. 08-01789 (SMB) BERNARD L. MADOFF INVESTMENT : SIPA LIQUIDATION SECURITIES LLC, : (Substantively Consolidated) Defendant. : ---------------------------------------------------------------X In re: : : BERNARD L. MADOFF, : : Debtor. : ---------------------------------------------------------------X MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING OMNIBUS MOTIONS TO DISMISS A P P E A R A N C E S: BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP 45 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10111 David J. Sheehan, Esq. Nicholas J. Cremona, Esq. Keith R. Murphy, Esq. Amy E. Vanderwal, Esq. Anat Maytal, Esq. Of Counsel WINDELS MARX LANE & MITTENDORF, LLP 156 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019 Howard L. Simon, Esq. Kim M. Longo, Esq. Of Counsel Attorneys for Plaintiff, Irving H. Picard, Trustee for the Liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC 10-04818-smb Doc 37 Filed 06/02/15 Entered 06/02/15 15:40:26 Main Document Pg 2 of 86 SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION 805 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 Josephine Wang, Esq. Kevin H. Bell, Esq. Lauren T. Attard, Esq. Of Counsel Attorneys for the Securities Investor Protection Corporation Attorneys for Defendants (See Appendix) STUART M. BERNSTEIN United States Bankruptcy Judge: Defendants in 233 adversary proceedings identified in an appendix to this opinion have moved pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1), (2) and (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss complaints filed by Irving H. Picard (“Trustee”), as trustee for the substantively consolidated liquidation of Bernard L. -
Alton H. Blackington Photograph Collection Finding
Special Collections and University Archives : University Libraries Alton H. Blackington Photograph Collection 1898-1943 15 boxes (4 linear ft.) Call no.: PH 061 Collection overview A native of Rockland, Maine, Alton H. "Blackie" Blackington (1893-1963) was a writer, photojournalist, and radio personality associated with New England "lore and legend." After returning from naval service in the First World War, Blackington joined the staff of the Boston Herald, covering a range of current events, but becoming well known for his human interest features on New England people and customs. He was successful enough by the mid-1920s to establish his own photo service, and although his work remained centered on New England and was based in Boston, he photographed and handled images from across the country. Capitalizing on the trove of New England stories he accumulated as a photojournalist, Blackington became a popular lecturer and from 1933-1953, a radio and later television host on the NBC network, Yankee Yarns, which yielded the books Yankee Yarns (1954) and More Yankee Yarns (1956). This collection of glass plate negatives was purchased by Robb Sagendorf of Yankee Publishing around the time of Blackington's death. Reflecting Blackington's photojournalistic interests, the collection covers a terrain stretching from news of public officials and civic events to local personalities, but the heart of the collection is the dozens of images of typically eccentric New England characters and human interest stories. Most of the images were taken by Blackington on 4x5" dry plate negatives, however many of the later images are made on flexible acetate stock and the collection includes several images by other (unidentified) photographers distributed by the Blackington News Service. -
Special Committee Report
REPORT OF THE 2009 SPECIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE ON FINRA’S EXAMINATION PROGRAM IN LIGHT OF THE STANFORD AND MADOFF SCHEMES SEPTEMBER 2009 SPECIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE Charles A. Bowsher (Chairman) ———————————— Ellyn L. Brown ———————————— Harvey J. Goldschmid ———————————— Joel Seligman ———————————— INDUSTRY GOVERNOR ADVISERS OF COUNSEL Mari Buechner Paul V. Gerlach W. Dennis Ferguson Griffith L. Green G. Donald Steel Dennis C. Hensley Michael A. Nemeroff SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP 1501 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 A. The Stanford Case................................................................................................. 2 B. The Madoff Case................................................................................................... 4 C. Recommendations................................................................................................. 6 II. BACKGROUND ON FINRA EXAMINATION PROGRAM...................................... 9 III. EXAMINATIONS OF MEMBER FIRMS INVOLVED IN THE STANFORD AND MADOFF SCANDALS.................................................................. 11 A. The Stanford Case............................................................................................... 12 1. Background............................................................................................... 12 2. Daniel Arbitration and 2003 Cycle Examination...................................... 13 3. 2003 -
Stanford Ponzi Scheme: Lessons for Protecting Investors from the Next Securities Fraud
THE STANFORD PONZI SCHEME: LESSONS FOR PROTECTING INVESTORS FROM THE NEXT SECURITIES FRAUD HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MAY 13, 2011 Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services Serial No. 112–30 ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 66–868 PDF WASHINGTON : 2011 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:24 Aug 25, 2011 Jkt 066868 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 K:\DOCS\66868.TXT TERRIE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama, Chairman JEB HENSARLING, Texas, Vice Chairman BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts, Ranking PETER T. KING, New York Member EDWARD R. ROYCE, California MAXINE WATERS, California FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York RON PAUL, Texas LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois NYDIA M. VELA´ ZQUEZ, New York WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York GARY G. MILLER, California BRAD SHERMAN, California SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York SCOTT GARRETT, New Jersey MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas RUBE´ N HINOJOSA, Texas PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JOHN CAMPBELL, California CAROLYN MCCARTHY, New York MICHELE BACHMANN, Minnesota JOE BACA, California THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan STEPHEN F. -
Yom Kippur Morning 5770 Lehman Brothers, Failed
YOM KIPPUR MORNING 5770 LEHMAN BROTHERS, FAILED BANKS, UNEMPLOYMENT, CITIBANK, ALLEN STANFORD, AIG, MARC DREIER, THE SEC, BEAR STEARNS, BAIL OUTS, BANKRUPTCIES, UNEMPLOYMENT, JAMES NICHOLSON, DELAYED RETIREMENTS, BANK OF AMERICA, UBS. BERNIE MADOFF, GREED IS GOOD, FINANCIAL MELTDOWN, MERRILL LYNCH, SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE LOANS, CALIFORNIA GOING BROKE. NON-PROFITS GOING BROKE, 401K’s DISAPPEARING, WALL STREET, TARP AND GREED, INVESTMENT BANKING IS ALL WE NEED. ECONOMY IN A FREEFALL, ECONOMY IN NEAR COLLAPSE, SUICIDE AND HEDGE FUNDS, PLUNGING HOME VALUES. THE IRS BANK FAILURES, DELAYED RETIREMENT, GM STOCK SELLING FOR A DOLLAR, STIMULUS PACKAGE, JOBS DISAPPEARING, COLLEGE ENDOWMENT FUNDS ARE SLASHED FRANK DIPASCALI, PONZI SCHEMES, CHURCH PONZI SCHEMES, AFRICAN PONZI SCHEMES, JEWISH PONZI SCHEMES, PONZI, PONZI, PONZI, BERNIE MADOFF My son David will tell you that the wildest roller coaster rides in the country are at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. However, looking at the American economy these past two years, we know that there have been some pretty wild rides here as well and, unlike the amusement park, these rides don’t end after two minutes. The last year and a half of the Bush Administration was a terrifying freefall. Not necessarily because of the wrong decisions being made; it just seemed that no one was in charge. No one spoke up. No one acted. No one took responsibility and the economy seemed to careen closer to the edge of the cliff with every passing day. The only real option for whoever won the Presidential election was to actually do something. Our congregants and our community, like most other congregations and communities, have been deeply affected by the events of the past two years. -
Financial Panics and Scandals
Wintonbury Risk Management Investment Strategy Discussions www.wintonbury.com Financial Panics, Scandals and Failures And Major Events 1. 1343: the Peruzzi Bank of Florence fails after Edward III of England defaults. 2. 1621-1622: Ferdinand II of the Holy Roman Empire debases coinage during the Thirty Years War 3. 1634-1637: Tulip bulb bubble and crash in Holland 4. 1711-1720: South Sea Bubble 5. 1716-1720: Mississippi Bubble, John Law 6. 1754-1763: French & Indian War (European Seven Years War) 7. 1763: North Europe Panic after the Seven Years War 8. 1764: British Currency Act of 1764 9. 1765-1769: Post war depression, with farm and business foreclosures in the colonies 10. 1775-1783: Revolutionary War 11. 1785-1787: Post Revolutionary War Depression, Shays Rebellion over farm foreclosures. 12. Bank of the United States, 1791-1811, Alexander Hamilton 13. 1792: William Duer Panic in New York 14. 1794: Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania (Gallatin mediates) 15. British currency crisis of 1797, suspension of gold payments 16. 1808: Napoleon Overthrows Spanish Monarchy; Shipping Marques 17. 1813: Danish State Default 18. 1813: Suffolk Banking System established in Boston and eventually all of New England to clear bank notes for members at par. 19. Second Bank of the United States, 1816-1836, Nicholas Biddle 20. Panic of 1819, Agricultural Prices, Bank Currency, and Western Lands 21. 1821: British restoration of gold payments 22. Republic of Poyais fraud, London & Paris, 1820-1826, Gregor MacGregor. 23. British Banking Crisis, 1825-1826, failed Latin American investments, etc., six London banks including Henry Thornton’s Bank and sixty country banks failed. -
H:\News Releases\Sept. 2010\091510.White Sentenced2.Wpd
United States Department of Justice United States Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones, United States Attorney News Release Jeanne F. Cooney Director of Community Relations (612) 664-5611 email: [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, September 15, 2010 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MN Robert White Sentenced for Role in Petters’ $3.7 Billion Ponzi Scheme The 69-year-old Excelsior man who assisted Wayzata businessman Tom Petters in orchestrating a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme was sentenced today in federal court in St. Paul. United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Robert Dean White to 60 months in prison on one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. White was charged on September 30, 2008, and pleaded guilty on October 8, 2008. Petters, age 53, was sentenced in April of this year to 50 years in prison for operating the Ponzi scheme for more than ten years. He presently is incarcerated in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. In his plea agreement, Robert White admitted that, at the direction of Petters, he fabricated documents to make it appear to Petters Company, Inc. (“PCI”), investors that the company was purchasing merchandise from two suppliers, when, in fact, that was not the case. White also admitted creating documents to make it appear that PCI then sold that merchandise to big-box retail stores. In reality, however, no merchandise was purchased or sold. Instead, most of the funds were wired back to PCI for use in furthering the fraud scheme and supporting the lavish lifestyle of Tom Petters.