Stock Market Scandals
Enron. Lehman Brothers. Worldcom. The list goes on and on. Crooked CEOs. Illegal payoffs. Executives plundering a company. It's all here, and we've spared none of the grisly details.
Should Members of Congress Be Allowed to Trade Using Insider Information?
Should our elected members of Congress be able to trade (and profit) using insider information?
I suspect that the average person would answer with a resounding "no" to this question.
The fact ...
Former Goldman Sachs Director Charged With Insider Trading
The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) announced on Tuesday that insider trading charges had been filed against Rajat Gupta.
The SEC alleges that Gupta, a former director at both Goldman Sac...
Insider Trading Investigation Picking Up Steam
A few short days ago, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that federal authorities are concluding a three-year investigation into possible widespread insider trading on Wall Street.
The WSJ rep...
More Embarrassment For the SEC
The last twelve months or so haven't been kind to the SEC.
First you had the Bernie Madoff report from the SEC's inspector general that outlined, in great detail, the ways in which the agency miss...
SEC Vote on Whether or Not To Pursue Enforcement Action Against Goldman Sachs Was Split Down Party Lines
In news that may or may not surprise you, the SEC's vote on whether or not to bring an enforcement action against Goldman Sachs was split down party lines.
According to Businessweek.com, SEC Chair...
More Shenanigans Courtesy of the SEC
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission released a 159-page report in late March that absolutely lambasted the agency's handling (or lack thereof) of Robert...
More Takeover Shenanigans
In case you didn't hear, Hewlett Packard (HPQ) agreed to purchase 3Com (COMS) yesterday in an all-cash deal worth $2.7 billion dollars.
This works out to a $7.90 purchase price for COMS, which is ...
Major Madoff Investor Jeffry Picower Found Dead in Swimming Pool
67-year old Jeffry Picower, who was reportedly a major beneficiary of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool on Sunday. Picower's body was discovered by his...
Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group Hedge Fund Arrested on Insider Trading Charges
David Faber broke the news on CNBC earlier today that Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund, had been arrested on insider trading charges.
Rajaratnam has been formally charged wi...
IMAX, LOCM Shares Influenced by Fake Press Releases
For the second time this week, somebody has issued a fake press release that has "reported" on the details of a "transaction" that actually never existed in the first place.
Earlier in the week, ...
How Stupid Can You Get? Reza Saleh Busted For Insider Trading in Perot / Dell Deal
I guess that greed really does blind people, as Reza Saleh just made one of the most boneheaded moves in the history of boneheaded moves.
Earlier this week, Dell announced that it was purchasing P...
The SEC Had At Least Eight Golden Opportunities To Take Down Bernard Madoff, But Didn't
The Office of the Inspector General at the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) released a report earlier today titled "Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme...
Bank of America Misleads Shareholders, Pays $33 Million in SEC Fines
Bank of America agreed to pay a $33 million dollar fine to the SEC earlier today to settle charges that it had misled investors regarding bonus payouts to Merrill Lynch.
If you'll remember, Bank of...
Charles Millard Takes The Fifth
Remember a few months ago when we told you about the PBGC's switch to a higher risk strategy just before the markets collapsed in late 2008?
Remember when we told you that Charles Millard, a former...
SEC Enforcement Attorneys Caught Engaging In Illegal Insider Trading?
What happens when the people who are charged with preventing insider trading (and other offenses) are engaging in the act themselves?
The Associated Press is reporting that federal prosecutors and ...
Andrew Cuomo: Government Pressured Bank of America to Complete Merrill Lynch Merger, Threatened Jobs of Executives
Did Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke threaten to fire Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, if his company didn't follow through with their proposed merger with Merrill Lynch?
This is exactly what Andre...
First "Claw Back" Lawsuit Filed in Bernard Madoff Affair
The first of the so-called "claw back" lawsuits has been filed in connection with the Bernard Madoff fraud, and many more are expected to be on their way over the coming months.
What is a "claw bac...
The SEC Spent $3.9 MILLION Dollars Reorganizing Desks
According to an investigative report on CBSNews.com (link below), the SEC spent $3.9 million dollars in 2007 and 2008 reorganizing desks.
Instead of, you know, investigating swindlers like Bernard ...
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Invested Heavily In Stocks Just Before Major Market Downturn
In another unbelievable act of buffoonery, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation reportedly plunged headfirst into stocks and other high-risk investments just before the year-end market collapse of...
FBI: 2,000+ Open Investigations Into Mortgage Fraud, 566 Into Corporate Fraud
Are the "perp walks" finally coming to Wall Street?
FBI Deputy Director John Pistole confirmed earlier today that the FBI currently has "more than" 2,000 open investigations into mortgage fraud, an...
The SEC Messed Up Again On Stanford Financial
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the SEC bungled their handling of yet another multi-billion dollar fraud.
First it was Bernard Madoff and Madoff Securities. Despite having this case handed to...
List of Bernard Madoff Investors Released To The Public
What do Sandy Koufax, John Malkovich, Kevin Bacon, Larry King and New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg all have in common?
They all fell victim to Bernard Madoff and his massive "Ponzi scheme", acco...
Harry Markopolos Testifies In Front of Congress
Harry Markopolos is currently testifying on Capitol Hill as I write this article.
As you can imagine, Markopolos isn't saying very nice things about the SEC and the way that they tackle high-profil...
Mark Cuban Fires Back in Insider Trading Case
In November of 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought a civil suit against Mark Cuban, accusing the billionaire of insider trading.
The lawsuit pertains to Cuban's (former) inve...
Harry Markopolos Completely Nailed The Madoff Fraud, But the SEC Did Nothing
I just finished up reading the 19-page document that Harry Markopolos submitted to the SEC in November of 2005 titled "The World's Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud".
Now obviously I had heard about th...
Scandal at Satyam Computer Services Ltd.
Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (trading as SAY on the New York Stock Exchange) has collapsed tonight after their former chairman admitted to inflating the company's profits for "several years".
Shar...
The SEC Issues Statement re: Madoff Scandal - We Messed Up
The SEC issued a statement on Tuesday night, saying that it had missed repeated opportunities to discover the Madoff fraud that has resulted in the disappearance of many billions of dollars.
The SE...
The Biggest Swindler of All-Time? Bernard L. Madoff
The sheer size of the fraud (estimated by some to be upwards of $50 billion dollars) that was perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff has many people asking the question: how could this have happened?
How...
Mark Cuban Is Sued by the SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil suit today in a federal court in Dallas, alleging that Mark Cuban made illegal insider trades 4 years ago in a company called Mamma.com.
M...
Top Goldman Sachs Executives, Including CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Will Not Receive Bonuses This Year
There are going to be no Christmas presents under the tree this year for Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and six other top executives at the company (just kidding).
Blankfein and the six other ex...
Message from Wall Street: We're Still Going To Pay Out Our Bonuses This Year
Should multi-billion dollar bonuses still be paid out by a company that is receiving federal bailout money? That's the question that many are asking right now as companies such as Goldman Sachs, Merri...
State And Federal Prosecutors Investigating Trading in Credit-Default Swaps
According to an article published this morning on the New York Times web site, New York state and federal prosecutors have now turned their attention to the shadowy and often misunderstood world of cr...
Lehman Brothers Is the Focus of Three U.S. Grand Jury Investigations
According to an article recently published on Bloomberg.com, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is now the subject of three United States grand jury investigations. Lehman bankruptcy lawyer Harvey Miller a...
Washington Mutual's New CEO Alan H. Fishman Received Twenty Million Dollars For Just 17 Days of Work
It's good work if you can get it.
Alan H. Fishman, the recently hired CEO of the now J.P. Morgan-owned Washington Mutual Bank, will reportedly receive close to $20 million dollars IN CASH for his q...
FDIC Seizes Washington Mutual; JP Morgan Swoops In and Buy Assets On the Cheap
Thursday was another historic day as the largest ever U.S. bank failure took place. Washington Mutual, an enormous bank with approximately $310 billion dollars in assets, was officially seized by the ...
Why Is IBM On the Prohibited Short Sale List?
On September 24th, 2008, a number of companies (twelve in total) were added to the list of NYSE companies that are on the banned short sale list. These companies included H&R Block, Credicorp, Arbor R...
Lehman Brothers on the Verge of Bankruptcy
Who would have ever thought that Lehman Brothers would be on the verge of declaring bankruptcy?
This is looking like a very real possibility on Sunday night, as an emergency meeting between Federal...
Soros Fund Management LLC Has Large Exposure to Lehman Brothers
Just like when Bear Stearns plunged earlier in the year, Lehman Brothers is plunging and stinging many of the hedge funds that made large investments in it.
Funds such as Wel... How Pissed Off Are Yahoo Shareholders Right Now?Yahoo shareholders are surely looking on in disbelief as their investment plummets on an almost-daily basis. Thursday was more of the same, as Yahoo traded down another 5.38% to close the session at $... The Seven Most Crooked CEOs of All TimeYou might read this list and argue that I left out someone who was really, really crooked. I tried to include the CEOs who directly or indirectly defrauded the investing public out of the most money, ... Bear Stearns Lawsuits: A Trickle Will Soon Become a FloodThe first of many class action lawsuits against Bear Stearns has been filed this week in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. One of the first companies that I have ... JP Morgan Buys Bear Stearns for $2 Per ShareYes, you read that right.
Bear Stearns, one of the biggest and respected investment banks in the world, has agreed to be purchased by JP Morgan Chase for $2 per share, which works out to around $23... Spy Wars? Elliott Management Corp Sues Cedar Hill Capital Partners LLC, Alleging "Corporate Espionage"Elliott Management Corp has sued rival hedge fund Cedar Hill Capital Partners LLC, alleging that the rival company "misappropriated" proprietary software that cost Elliott Management Corp millions of ... Problems? What Problems? Wall Street's Five Biggest Firms Dish Out $39 Billion in Bonuses in 2007Forget about the fact that most of these firms were absolutely taken apart in 2007 due to the subprime mortgage mess and related quant fund problems.
Forget about the fact that the combined market ... Societe Generale "Victim" of Major FraudSociete Generale, France's second largest bank, has apparently fallen victim to the single large fraud in history ever to be perpetuated by one single trader. In the mid 1990's, Nick Leeson of Barings... Alan Greenspan Working as an Advisor for Paulson & Co? That's Just WrongOf all of the thousands of hedge funds that Alan Greenspan could have taken an advisory position with, he had to choose Paulson & Co., the hedge fund that made billions and billions of dollars in 2007... Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein Collects $68 Million BonusIt has not been a good year for many of the big firms on Wall Street.
However, this is not the case for Goldman Sachs, as they have somehow managed to deftly avoid all of the pitfalls that the othe... The Top Ten Most Outrageous Stock Market Scams of all TimeScams occur in the stock market every day. Stock market scandals are woven into the fabric of our culture.
However, these are the TRULY outrageous stock market scams. The scams that when you hear a... The Top Twelve Stock Market Scams of the Last Twelve YearsThe title is self-explanatory. Here are the top 12 scams since 1995:
12. The Emulex Press Release Hoax. In the summer of 2000, Mark Jakob, a former employee of Internet Wire, sent ... Traders at Goldman Sachs Banked Big Profits Betting on Mortgage MeltdownHave you been wondering why Goldman Sachs have been avoiding the punishment that is being meted out to other big brokerages this year? Wonder why Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers have a... Is There a Leak at the Fed?Rumors were running rampant today that someone at the Fed leaked news of the upcoming rate cut that was announced on Friday. Normally I would chalk it up to just an unfounded rumor and market gossip, ... Think that the SEC Is Corrupt? Meet Gary AguirreI've always had an inkling that the SEC as an organization is largely corrupt. There are quality people working at the agency to be sure, but when the people at the top of the SEC are willing to un-do... Insider Trading Is Running Rampant on Wall StreetTXU. Dow Jones. Acxiom. Aquantive. HCA. First Data.
What do these companies have in common?
All of these companies were acquired by other companies, and in every single case, the stocks experience...
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