No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller by Harry Markopolos (rainbow fish read aloud .txt) 📗

There are 2 possible scenarios that involve fraud by Madoff Securities:

1. Scenario # 1 (Unlikely): I am submitting this case under Section 21A(e) of the 1934 Act in the event that the broker-dealer and ECN depicted is actually providing the stated returns to investors but is earning those returns by front-running customer order flow. Front-running qualifies as insider-trading since it relies upon material, non-public information that is acted upon for the benefit of one party to the detriment of another party. Section 21A(e) of the 1934 Act allows the SEC to pay up to 10% of the total fines levied for insider-trading. We have obtained approval from the SEC’s Office of General Counsel, the Chairman’s Office, and the bounty program administrator that the SEC is able and willing to pay Section 21A(e) rewards. This case should qualify if insider-trading is involved.

2. Scenario # 2 (Highly likely) Madoff Securities is the world’s largest Ponzi Scheme. In this case there is no SEC reward payment due the whistle-blower so basically I’m turning this case in because it’s the right thing to do. Far better that the SEC is proactive in shutting down a Ponzi Scheme of this size rather than reactive.

Who: The politically powerful Madoff family owns and operates a New York City based broker-dealer, ECN, and what is effectively the world’s largest hedge fund. Bernard “Bernie” Madoff, the family patriarch started the firm.

According to the www.madoff.com website, “Bernard L. Madoff was one of the five broker-dealers most closely involved in developing the NASDAQ Stock Market. He has been chairman of the board of directors of the NASDAQ Stock Market as well as a member of the board of governors of the NASD and a member of numerous NASD committees. Bernard Madoff was also a founding member of the International Securities Clearing Corporation in London.

His brother, Peter B. Madoff has served as vice chairman of the NASD, a member of its board of governors, and chairman of its New York region. He also has been actively involved in the NASDAQ Stock Market as a member of its board of governors and its executive committee and as chairman of its trading committee. He also has been a member of the board of directors of the Security Traders Association of New York. He is a member of the board of directors of the Depository Trust Corporation.

What:

1. The family runs what is effectively the world’s largest hedge fund with estimated assets under management of at least $20 billion to perhaps $50 billion, but no one knows exactly how much money BM is managing. That we have what is effectively the world’s largest hedge fund operating underground is plainly put shocking. But then again, we don’t even know the size of the hedge fund industry so none of this should be surprising. A super-sized fraud of this magnitude was bound to happen given the lack of regulation of these off-shore entities. My best guess is that approximately $30 billion is involved.

2. However the hedge fund isn’t organized as a hedge fund by Bernard Madoff (BM) yet it acts and trades exactly like one. BM allows third party Fund of Funds (FOF’s) to private label hedge funds that provide his firm, Madoff Securities, with equity tranch funding. In return for equity tranch funding, BM runs a trading strategy, as agent, whose returns flow to the third party FOF hedge funds and their investors who put up equity capital to fund BM’s broker-dealer and ECN operations. BM tells investors it earns its fees by charging commissions on all of the trades done in their accounts.

Red Flag # 1:Why would a US broker-dealer organize and fund itself in such an unusual manner? Doesn’t this seem to be an unseemly way of operating under the regulator’s radar screens? Why aren’t the commissions charged fully disclosed to investors? Can a SEC Registered Investment Advisor charge both commissions and charge a principle fee for trades?MOST IMPORTANTLY,why would BM settle for charging only undisclosed commissions when he could earn standard hedge fund fees of 1 % management fee + 20% of the profits? Doing some simple math on BM’s 12% average annual return stream to investors, the hedge fund, before fees, would have to be earning average annual returns of 16%. Subtract out the 1 % management fee and investors are down to 15%. 20% of the profits would amount to 3% (.20 x 15% = 3% profit participation) so investors would be left with the stated 12% annual returns listed in Attachment 1 (Fairfield Sentry Ltd. Performance Data). Total fees to the third party FOF’s would amount to 4% annually. Now why would BM leave 4% in average annual fee revenue on the table unless he were a Ponzi Scheme? Or, is he charging a whole lot more than 4% in undisclosed commissions?

3. The third parties organize the hedge funds and obtain investors but 100% of the money raised is actually managed by Madoff Investment Securities, LLC in a purported hedge fund strategy. The investors that pony up the money don’t know that BM is managing their money. That Madoff is managing the money is purposely kept secret from the investors. Some prominent US based hedge fund, fund of funds, that “invest” in BM in this manner include:

a. Fairfield Sentry Limitedwhich had $5.2 billion invested in BM as of May 2005; 11th Floor, 919 Third Avenue; New York, NY 10022; Telephone 212.319.6060; The Fairfield Greenwich Group is a global family of companies with offices in New York, London and Bermuda, and representative offices in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Local operating entities are authorized or regulated by a variety of government agencies, including Fairfield Greenwich Advisors LLC, a U.S. SEC registered investment adviser, Fairfield Heathcliff Capital LLC, a U.S. NASD member broker-dealer, and Fairfield Greenwich (UK) Limited, authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom.

b. Access International Advisors ; www.aiagroup.com; a SEC registered investment advisor, telephone # 212.223.7167; Suite 2206; 509