FINRA has found no evidence of trades by Bernie Madoff on behalf of his private investment fund through Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, a commercial brokerage founded in 1960.
This appears to be a brick in the wall of ‘rogue trader’ status. He could do it himself because he made no trades at all.
However this was not Bernie’s only commercial operation in the securities business, in addition to his now nefarious private fund.
Primex was registered as Primex Holdings, L.L.C. in NYS in October of 1998. Primex is a joint venture involving a digital trading auction which operates out of Bernie’s 18th floor office at 885 Third Ave.
Madoff’s business partners in the Primex Exchange were Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch.
Did Bernie give any business to this joint venture? Did any of the above brokers have any investments or losses with the Madoff Fund? If not why not? It was one of the most successful funds, on paper, on the Street?
More questions than answers. Let’s hope this one does not disappear down a black hole like the enormous put option positions placed on the airline stocks just prior to 9/11.
Comment:
Haha, Jesse. Did I hear 9/11 put options? In DC-think that’s, “I am a certifiable loon, a gun-clinging survivalist-creationist with neo-Nazi leanings. Please ignore my ravings and leave me to dribble here in my corner.”
Good stuff Lila,
Nearly everyone who invested with Bernie (and I know a few) didn’t really care what he did. The only thing they knew was that; “He always made money for his friends” (Johnny Ola referring to
Hyman Roth in “The Godfather II”).
Many that invested with him referred to it as a club (not an investment arm), and that only the special people (Jews I guess)could get in and pass through the red velvet rope. Most of the
investors that I contacted were always cocky about the special fund that they invested in, even referring to Madoff as Uncle Bernie or the
“Gold Standard”.
Now really, most of the people who invested with
Bernie knew something wasn’t Kosher, they just didn’t care. It was all about the money.
Paper transactions or real. Some even stated
that they were OK, because Bernie was always bringing in big investors or jewish charities
who didn’t need their principal cash, just
interest or supposed dividends.
Now let me ask you, if a relative of yours asks you to invest with them, would you? And if they told you to liquidate everything that you have and give them all your cash, would you. The answer is NO!!. Because you would never put all your eggs (or matza) in one basket, yet all these investors put all their cash with Bernie.
One asks why? Simple, they were all in on it,
one way or another. The more you put in, the more you would get out (like Funny Money).
They might not have known it was a true Ponzi
Scheme, but they all knew these funds were not on the up and up.
I can remember back in the early 80’s when these Pyramid Schemes showed up at the Marriot Hotel in Westchester. Hundreds of people showed up
carrying bags of $3000, with visions of getting back $12,000 in returns within a week or so. I went to one of these scams, and it was like I was back on Bermuda, being hounded by Time Share sales people (scum bags). They were all dressed
impecably, with Rolex watches, coiffed hair, nice tans and perfect white teeth (Tiger Sharks).
Everyone knew it was a scam, but people just wanted to believe (greed took over).
Summary, People just want to believe. If bernie opened up shop again, he wouldn’t have any problem finding another group of suckers willing to invest with him again. People love pain, it gives the boring ones something to talk about.
Paul
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch….
But now lots of the people how lost (so naively) are going to get tax refunds and a lot of other government goodies (some perhaps deserved)…
at the end of the day another boondoggle…