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HomeCiti’s $7Bln Settlement: Truth and Justice Delayed Is Truth and Justice Denied
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 14th, 2014 11:40 AM |
Running down the clock used to be a strategy employed by renowned North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith to win many a game. College basketball ultimately employed a shot clock to keep the games going.
Perhaps the Department of Justice should also have some sort of effective ‘shot clock’ imposed upon it in certain circumstances. Why so?
Just look at the announcement today (July 14, 2014) that Citigroup is paying a $7 billion fine to settle an array of egregious practices involved in transactions the firm brought from 2003 to 2008. The WSJ offers that AG Eric Holder will provide the following details: (more…)
DOJ Lies, Lies, and Damn Lies re: Mortgage Fraud
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 14th, 2014 9:21 AM |
When people knowingly misrepresent critically important information to you and do so on a repeated basis, why would you ever trust them?
Human nature being what it is, you would not.
That is exactly the quandary the Department of Justice finds itself in currently. How so? Let’s navigate and review a recently released report from none other than the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of Justice which outlines how the DOJ repeatedly delivered grossly exaggerated information to the American public regarding mortgage fraud investigations. (more…)
Eric Ben-Artzi: Another Whistleblower Who Was Fired
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 29th, 2014 8:52 AM |
Recently Deutsche Bank surprised the markets by pre-releasing its earnings with a surprise loss of 1.5 billion Euros.
Do you think that the bank may have been previously mismarking positions or, in layman’s terms, ‘cooking the books’ and is just now playing catch up given that the stock price of the bank has rebounded? Does that sound like a practice that some might define as ‘pump and dump’? You think?
What happened to the individual who brought attention and exposure to Deutsche Bank’s financial chicanery? Let’s meet another whistleblower who received a pink slip, in this case Eric Ben-Artzi, who spoke recently at Auburn University. (more…)
Dennis Kelleher Calls Out President Obama on Mortgage Fraud
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 28th, 2014 10:59 AM |
Do you plan on watching President Obama’s State of the Union address this evening?
Why do I think I hear many people who might read this blog say, “Why would I want to do that?”
In the midst of leaving an event last evening in New York City, a very informed pollster told me that the overwhelming sense in the nation today is that people are totally fed up with Washington and Wall Street. No surprise there, but why is that? Well, because all too often our politicians from both sides of the aisle over-promise and then under-deliver.
As an example of just that practice, I commend Dennis Kelleher, President of Better Markets, for releasing the following statement regarding the Obama administration’s promise he made two years ago in his State of the Union to bring real accountability to Wall Street. (more…)
Rep. Duckworth (D-IL): Shame on You, Mr. Castillo
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 23rd, 2013 10:33 AM |
I truly love it when those who would game our systems are exposed for their lack of integrity.
On this note, I thank the regular reader who shared a video clip of just such an undressing from earlier this year when Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) put a beating on an individual who had gamed the Military Veteran’s disability program.
Duckworth’s beating, which really kicks in around the 4:30 mark of the clip, would have made any heavyweight champion proud. The clip runs a mere 8-minutes. I assure you that you will not be disappointed.
I would only wish that those within our financial regulatory system, the pols themselves, and others who have abused their positions while charged with protecting the public’s interests would be similarly undressed and exposed.
Larry Doyle
Please pre-order a copy of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy, that will be published by Palgrave Macmillan on January 7, 2014.
For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to view this video clip and to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail.
I have no business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.
Madoff Trial Evidence Indicts NASD/FINRA
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 11th, 2013 8:46 AM |
For five years America has been fed a line of bull$h!t that absolved the regulators at the NASD and its offspring at FINRA from their oversight responsibilities in the operation that encompassed Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scam.
I never believed it for a second when regulators and assorted sycophants said that Madoff’s broker-dealer operation was fully separate and distinct from the Ponzi scheme.
I challenged former SEC chair Harvey Pitt in September 2009 when he tried to provide cover for the NASD/FINRA on its oversight and responsibilities related to Madoff. (Those interested can review that engagement and a lot more on the 20-minute video within this commentary.)
We awake this morning to learn startling new evidence from WSJ coverage of the ongoing Madoff trial, (more…)
Stanford Financial Investors: Insult on Top of Injury
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 3rd, 2013 8:37 AM |
If bulls and bears dominate the landscape on Wall Street, there is little doubt that pigs rule the roost in Washington.
I know I am stating the obvious with that assertion but a recent report detailing the ongoing nightmare for those who invested money in Stanford Financial provides more evidence that Washington continues to resemble little more than a sty these days.
Let’s navigate as The Center for Public Integrity recently revealed how those who had put money into Stanford Financial continue to be abused. (more…)
Aguirre Addresses Likely Cause of Next Market Crisis: Selling Counterfeit Stock
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 1st, 2013 10:53 AM |
“The message is simple: Wall Street crime pays and there is no downside.”
Will there be another market crisis and if so what will precipitate it?
In what is an instant Sense on Cents classic, noted attorney and former SEC whistleblower Gary Aguirre takes us on a walk down the path that seems self-evident to me will cause our next market crisis.
Can you imagine if you discovered a businessman went about selling a product, collecting revenues on those sales, but never actually delivered the product sold?
Think that sort of fraud might attract the interest of the authorities? But what if the authorities, in this case our financial regulators, turned a blind eye to the practice? (more…)
My Thoughts on JP Morgan’s $13 Billion Fine
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 21st, 2013 10:12 AM |
Does a $13 billion fine such as that levied against JP Morgan represent justice?
I was asked by my friends at Global Economic Intersection to weigh in on the following questions regarding this penalty seemingly so large as to be hard to fathom.
Is the reported settlement appropriate? Sufficient? Insufficient?
How many criminal charges would be appropriate? None? Operational management? Executive management?
If you believe the action by DoJ is appropriate, has it been timely?
Should there be similar action against other banks? (more…)
Mortgage Fraud Task Force Stats: Did You See This? WOW
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 12th, 2013 7:41 AM |
In what has to be one of the greatest indictments to date of the lack of meaningful integrity in Washington, news broke late last week regarding mortgage fraud investigation and enforcement statistics that totally blew me away.
Before we dive into the cesspool that defines this story, let’s set the proper backdrop.
One would think that a government initiative with the name Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force would have been incredibly busy over the last few years. For those unaware, President Obama established this initiative in November 2009. Its mission?
. . . to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial crisis as well as those who would attempt to take advantage of the efforts at economic recovery. (more…)
