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Posts Tagged ‘Ponzi schemes’

Sowing the Seeds of Tyranny

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 6th, 2011 6:30 AM |

Without truth, can we ever determine right from wrong and good from bad?

Without transparency, can we ever get to the truth?

Without integrity, can those with ill gotten gains ever be prosecuted?

Without an undying and unbridled passion for truth, transparency, and integrity how can our nation thrive? I am deadly serious. We are nowhere close to thriving currently. (more…)

Operation Broken Trust Missed “The Big One”

Posted by Larry Doyle on December 8th, 2010 7:55 AM |

$8 billion is a lot of money, right? Right.

But when is $8 billion NOT a lot of money?

$8 billion is NOT a lot of money when it is compared to $35 billion, $135 billion, or $335 billion. Agreed?

Agreed. Thank you. Let’s continue.

Sense on Cents is a huge proponent of exposing and prosecuting financial fraud wherever it occurs. To this end, I was happy to see that the Feds have had their ‘street cleaners’ operating overtime the last few months. The results of the Fed’s ‘street cleaning’, also known as Operation Broken Trust, is a not insignificant collection of 231 cases totaling $8 billion in losses. Well done. In all sincerity, I commend each and every individual involved in this effort. While those arrested deserve due process, they also deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If guilty, I hope they receive maximum sentences.

Regrettably, though, the street cleaners missed “The Big One.” Which scam is that? A scam which by any measure could reasonably be described by any of those much larger figures referenced above.    (more…)

Public Pension Ponzi Schemes

Posted by Larry Doyle on April 6th, 2010 10:50 AM |

Making promises that can’t be kept.

Garnering support via payback, if not kickbacks.

Effectively misrepresenting expected returns.

Am I talking about Bernie Madoff and every other con artist who has ever perpetrated a Ponzi scheme? No, although I could be. I am addressing the reality of the public pension system in our country. Those participating in public pensions can rail on me all they want. The simple fact is the power and leverage of the public unions combined with the willingness of public officials to sell their souls, while mortgaging our children’s futures, have created a massive gap in the funding of public pension liabilities in our nation today. (more…)

Madoff Ruling: More Reason Not to Trust Wall Street or Washington

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 1st, 2010 1:03 PM |

On the heels of my commentary this morning addressing why Harry Markopolos feels America’s citizens should not trust the government, we receive more fuel for the fire.

The timing of this release is truly uncanny:

MADOFF JUDGE’S RULING REDUCES PROTECTIONS AGAINST PONZI SCHEMES FOR ALL SECURITIES INVESTORS

Judge rules SIPC does not have to insure every account up to $500,000, shifts burden of Madoff losses to American taxpayer. (more…)

Financial Chicanery and Accounting Charades

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 1st, 2009 11:38 AM |

Financial chicanery and accounting charades come in all shapes and sizes. From mismarking trading positions on Wall Street to running massive Ponzi schemes and with many other stops along the way, the games people play to accrue false profits and cover real losses are endless. That said, all this artifice ultimately does end as the true value, or lack thereof, of the underlying assets is flushed out. For this very reason, I remain extremely concerned about the economy and overly conservative in my approach to the markets.

While we could debate at length about the necessity and efficacy of the FASB’s relaxation of the mark-to-market accounting for bank assets, ultimately the accounting will not truly matter. Why? The value of the assets on the banks’ balance sheets will find their true level. In the process, the banks will be sufficiently capitalized, or not. My bet is that many more of these banks will not be sufficiently well capitalized. Additionally, do not expect bank examiners and regulators to share this information.

I see clear evidence of this exact scenario in reading Bloomberg’s esteemed columnist Jonathan Weil’s commentary, Banks Have Us Flying Blind on Depth of Losses:

There was a stunning omission from the government’s latest list of “problem” banks, which ran to 416 lenders, a 15-year high, as of June 30. One outfit not on the list was Georgian Bank, the second-largest Atlanta-based bank, which supposedly had plenty of capital.

It failed last week.

Georgian’s clean-up will be unusually costly. The book value of Georgian’s assets was $2 billion as of July 24, about the same as the bank’s deposit liabilities, according to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. press release. The FDIC estimates the collapse will cost its insurance fund $892 million, or 45 percent of the bank’s assets. That percentage was almost double the average for this year’s 95 U.S. bank failures, and it was the highest among the 10 largest ones.

Do you think Georgian Bank was a special situation that somehow slipped past the accountants, examiners, and regulators? If you believe that, I have some AAA sub-prime CDOs for you that really look like good value.

What do we learn with the failure of Georgian? As Weil attests:

The cost of Georgian’s failure confirms that the bank’s asset values were too optimistic. It also helps explain why the FDIC, led by Chairman Sheila Bair, is resorting to extraordinary measures to replenish its battered insurance fund.

How many other ‘Georgians’ are out there? Plenty. The material difference amidst the banking system is the composition of the loan and investment portfolios of different institutions. Despite the fact that the FASB, pressured by Congress and Wall Street, has allowed banks to utilize chicanery and charades to cloud our view, fortunately we have journalists like Jonathan Weil to provide some clarity.

Might we be able to get Mr. Weil to shed some light on “Analyst Exposes Wells Fargo Balance Sheet Charade”?

LD






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