Why is Bernie Madoff the only Wall Street criminal to face jail time?

[Scuba]

[beachbum bob]

1. he basically turned himself in and pled guilty

..........probably to hedge his bet that there might be a god and might be a heaven and hell


all the other self-serving wallstreet criminals and the politicians that protect them could care less for god or heaven or hell

[jimlup]

2. Further he was a small operation compared to

the real swindlers who are much better established in the 0.01%

[irisblue]

3. stealing from the 1%

[cali]

4. He's not. not even close. look, all too often financial crooks get away with

it, but it's simply not even close to true that he's the financial crook imprisoned. It takes but a few moments to google and find this out.

Doesn't help what is a very serious problem to make claims that aren't factual.

[2banon]

6. Madoff is the "Poster Child", those others convicted are pretty much in the same league

The facts remain, 100% of the most egregious, criminal banksters are free and at liberty to continue looting from the 99%, and worse. That's 100% FACTUAL, and 100% the point.

[cali]

8. hard to disagree with that as you made it totally subjective

who the "most egregious" are is indeed subjective.



I'm hardly known here for being an apologist for the financial industry or wall street.

I am known for being a cantankerous stickler for facts.

In any case, there is no doubt that the vast majority of financial sector criminals have not seen the inside of a jail cell or even prosecution.

[2banon]

14. Exactly so...

And I would emphasise that just from the existing evidence of massive fraud, malfeasance, corruption etc that is available for anyone to see/read (nevermind all that remains to be learned) not a single one of the Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BofA ad nauseum will ever be prosecuted and convicted of their crimes. Indeed, they remain at liberty, and in position to continue on with their massive looting of the 99% world wide.

Matt Taibbi reports on this continuously in meticulous detail and with breathtaking scope, but it is rarely given the attention and notice that is needed to bring about significant and substantive change.

So while the Corporate Media, including PBS and NPR do their masters bidding, it's necessary to create simplified, and attention grabbing narratives to drive the point "home" as it were.

[2banon]

5. Point taken and it's an important point.

It may not be 100% factual in that he's not the "only" crook to be imprisoned, but it is 100% factual that the more serious, egregious fraudsters remain free, and at liberty to continue their fraudulent schemes against the 99%. Great Poster!

[grahamhgreen]

7. I wonder if he's not in there for protection rather than punishment...

Some of those federal pens have golf courses...

[ProSense]

9. His

"Why is Bernie Madoff the only Wall Street criminal to face jail time?"

....brother was convicted too.

Peter Madoff, Former Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Managing Director at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Pleads Guilty in New York to Securities Fraud and Tax Fraud Conspiracy
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/NYS-1206291.html

Peter Madoff Is Sentenced to 10 Years for His Role in Fraud
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/peter-madoff-is-sentenced-to-10-years-for-his-role-in-fraud

The Madoffs got what they deserved. So I wouldn't say "Bernie Madoff the only Wall Street criminal to face jail time." He's not, by any stretch.

Former BofA Exec Indicted For Fraud
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002990749

Allen Stanford Convicted in Houston for Orchestrating $7 Billion Investment Fraud Scheme
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/2012/12-crm-293.html

Former Chief Investment Officer of Stanford Financial Group Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/2012/12-crm-785.html

Former Corporate Chairman of Consulting Firm and Board Director Rajat Gupta Found Guilty of Insider Trading in Manhattan Federal Court
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/NYS-120615.html

Hedge Fund Founder Raj Rajaratnam Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 11 Years in Prison for Insider Trading Crimes
http://www.stopfraud.gov/news/news-10132011.html

CEO and Head Trader of Bankrupt Sentinel Management Indicted in Chicago in Alleged $500 Million Fraud Scheme Prior to Firm’s 2007 Collapse
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/ILN-120601.html

Yahoo! Executive and California Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager Plead Guilty in New York for Insider Trading
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/NYS-120521.html

Three Former Financial Services Executives Convicted for Roles in Conspiracies Involving Investment Contracts for the Proceeds of Municipal Bonds
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/2012/12-at-620.html

Former Chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison and Ordered to Forfeit $38.5 Million
http://www.stopfraud.gov/news/news-06302011-2.html
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/2012/12-crm-342.html

Former Chief Financial Officer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/2012/12-crm-342.html

Seattle Investment Fund Founder Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme and Bankruptcy Fraud
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/WAW-120210.html

Former Hedge Fund Managing Director Sentenced to 20 Years for Defrauding 900 Investors in $294 Million Scheme
http://www.stopfraud.gov/iso/opa/stopfraud/ILN-111117.html

[El_Johns]

18. Interesting no JPM or Citi people there, and the only BOA person is a "former" exec that BOA itself

ratted on.

[druidity33]

21. I didn't see any Goldman people either. nt.

[El_Johns]

22. no. just indies.

[hobbit709]

27. Those were all small time compared to the trillions stolen by the big boys.

[bullwinkle428]

10. Actually, I can add something that boosts both your point and cali's -

Allen Stanford is another financial crook doing hard time because he specifically ripped off a bunch of rich people, including prominent pro golfers Vijay Singh of Fiji and Henrik Stenson of Sweden.

[Armstead]

11. Probably becuse he ran a clearcut con job

The others run very complicated con jobs that are easer to gloss over.

They're as bad as him, but someone had to be the sacrificial lamb.

[chuckstevens]

12. Martha Stewart

Personally, I don't care for her, but what a joke! Martha Stewart served jail time for a minor infraction, but the "Jaime Diamond's" of Wall Street get huge raises. There is something seriously wrong with this country.

[truth2power]

13. I was going to say that, but when I clicked on the actual thread,

you already had.

[blkmusclmachine]

15. Because he robbed the 1%, and not the 99%.

[CanonRay]

16. 'Cause he stole from the also rich

and that is taboo. If he'd have just ripped off middle class people of their homes and life savings, he'd still be out.

[CFLDem]

17. Yup

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. He has good company with Sanford

[LiberalAndProud]

20. He wasn't. There are others who also stole from the 1% serving time.

Madoff made off with the most, so he grabbed the headlines.

[jmowreader]

23. Because he's one of the few to do anything illegal

The funniest one to me is the Goldman Sachs non-scandal. I read the prospectus, and they were extremely clear as to what they were doing...if you really understand derivatives, and most people don't. So to refresh: GS was selling a bond made up of bets against other people's mortgages. That's what "synthetic exposure to the mortgage market" means, kids. Goldman was betting the mortgages would fail; the people on the other side of the table were betting they wouldn't. Why then is it unrealistic to think that Goldman, who picked the mortgages to bet against, wouldn't go out of their way to find the shittiest mortgages ever issued in the history of the Republic?

This is completely legal. And Dodd-Frank didn't make it any less legal. If you don't understand what you're betting on you will lose every time, whether it's donkey racing or dud mortgages.

My suggestion: require all male derivatives traders to wear tuxedos to work and all female traders to wear floor length gowns. If you are running a business that's the investment version of a blackjack table, make the people running it look like blackjack dealers.

Yes this is hard, but consider: if you buy a used car and the engine seizes two days later because the car didn't come with an oil plug, you can't go to the government for relief because you failed to do due diligence. You're supposed to notice there's a gallon of oil on the ground and none in the engine. But if you invest in a security you don't understand and it takes your money because it was designed to, you can run straight to the government and people who make $22,500/year will chip in to give it back.

[sendero]

25. What is not legal..

.. is intentionally misrepresenting the quality of the mortgages contained in the security, committing fraud to make said mortgages, and any number of other fraudulent activities, all of which they did and is easily proven.

No cigar.

[jmowreader]

28. A little bit of reading for you

Start with:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_CDO

In it you will find:

Investors in synthetic CDOs included
“funded” long investors, who paid cash to purchase actual securities issued by the CDO. These investors received interest if the reference securities performed, but they could lose all of their investment if the reference securities defaulted.
“unfunded” long investors, who entered into swaps with the CDO, making money if the reference securities performed. These investors were highest in the payment "waterfall"—receiving premium-like payments from the CDO as long as the reference securities performed—but they would have to pay if the reference securities deteriorated beyond a certain point and the CDO did not have sufficient funds to pay the short investors.
“short” investors, who bought credit default swaps on the reference securities, making money if the securities failed. These investors were often hedge funds. They bought the credit default swaps from the CDOs and paid premiums unfunded investors received.[15]

Now try this on...

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news17098/sec-charges-goldman-sachs-fraud-tied-sub-prime-mortgages

The SEC's complaint alleges that after participating in the portfolio selection, Paulson & Company effectively shorted the RMBS portfolio it helped select by entering into credit default swaps (CDS) with Goldman Sachs to buy protection on specific layers of the ABACUS capital structure. Given that financial short interest, Paulson & Company had an economic incentive to select RMBS that it expected to experience credit events in the near future. Goldman Sachs did not disclose Paulson & Company's short position or its role in the collateral selection process in the term sheet, flip book, offering memorandum, or other marketing materials provided to investors.

And finally read this:

http://www.math.nyu.edu/faculty/avellane/ABACUS.pdf

This is the prospectus. Read pages 6 thru 9 and they will scare the shit out of you, because it's all there in 9-point Helvetica: if you put your money into this you will lose it all and you can't get back out of this thing.

I believe the SEC to be filled with really smart people, but this statement proves why radical reform of the derivatives market is needed: Credit default swaps are not "protection on specific layers of the ABACUS capital structure," THEY ARE THE ENTIRE ABACUS CREDIT STRUCTURE!!! The whole thing is a fucking fraud, people! Synthetic CDOs are expertly crafted weapons of mass destruction designed to take all your money, and they're designed so no one can figure out what's going on in them. (Fabrice Tourre, who was the GS vice president in charge of this particular scam, bragged in an e-mail that the great thing about synthetic CDOs was that no one understood them.) 2007-AC1 (the one in question) was the forty-seventh synthetic CDO Goldman offered. The first 46 of them took all their longs' money. With a perfect track record like that, does it matter whether the guy who set up the synthetic CDO's structure was John Paulson, John Dillinger, or a can of Hopping John?

Pretend Goldman Sachs synthetic CDOs are a cage with three full-grown tigers in it, and there are 47 people lined up in front of it to try to pet them. You're at the end of the line. The SEC requires you publish the performance of anything you sell, and all 46 of the prior Abacus CDOs took 100 percent of their longs' money - in our tiger example, attempting to pet the tigers resulted in utter disaster. If you're standing there watching the first 46 people get their hands eaten, when it's your turn would you think "they like eating hands, so I shouldn't do this" or "it's okay, they've GOT to be full by now!"

[sendero]

29. I'm not interested..

.... If you can refute anything I said please do so, this crapload of links does not.

I know it is hard for some people to accept that our government has been co-opted by the financial industry, but it has.

[WinkyDink]

24. Why were Martha Stewart and Leona Helmlsey eagerly convicted and jailed?

[customerserviceguy]

26. The tagline on that poster

is not exactly true. He screwed a lot of Jewish charities as well as folks who thought they had saved up enough.

The difference is, there was no bailout for Bernie's victims. With the government bailing out the too-big-to-fail banks, they became accomplices in their crimes, so it was important NOT to identify them as criminals.