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HEY SIPC! SO WHAT IS INSURANCE ANYWAY?!!

Ron Stein March 4, 2010

So let’s start getting to the meat of the issue: investor protection. Not just Madoff investors, Stanford investors, Petters investors. All investors. Which brings us to the issues of insurance, which the Trustee and SIPC spend enormous time asserting is not the case with SIPC protection. Aside from the probable fact that 99 out of 100 investors who have heard the letters “SIPC” before would put the words “SIPC” and “insurance” together, it is, by any definition, insurance. Lousy insurance, to be sure. Misrepresented insurance, certainly. Not insurance of the FDIC variety, okay. But I’ll go further. Let’s put aside the fact that millions of investors have been led to believe that SIPC is insurance; put aside as it has been asserted in various briefs that government institutions such as the SEC, FINRA – the entity that audits and regulates broker-dealers, court cases, heck, even President Nixon in his short speech when signing the bill into law called, and even continue to call it (though not Nixon) insurance. For SIPC to continue to assert that it is not insurance is akin to Bernie Madoff now insisting that he ran an honest operation. Read Full Post

ON JUDGE LIFLAND, NOT SO GREAT EXPECTATIONS, "CRAZY HE CALLS ME" AND STUCK IN SIPC

Ron Stein February 15, 2010

As Madoff victims hang on tenterhooks awaiting Judge Lifland’s decision on “net equity”, I thought it to be a good time for some modest ruminations. For those of you too confused on this (or have spent too long in a cave) it boils down to this: are Madoff investors entitled to SIPC protection based on the values reflected on their final accounts and confirmation or on some arithmetic calculation that dismisses any validity to the investment statmenet . To those who care – and most everyone should – don’t get your hopes up, I’m sorry to say. But it’s also not a slam dunk for the Trustee, either. Read Full Post

WINDS OF CHANGE

Part One – The SEC-Madoff Scandal

Ron Stein September 26, 2009

Stunned! So here we are a few weeks after the release of the stunning Kotz report. No less than six times, from 1992 on, the SEC flubbed its examination of Madoff. Reading the original Executive Summary left me in disbelief. Reading the actual document has been shocking. The bungling is so comprehensive and confounding it’s akin to a Keystone Cops reel. Read Full Post

Banking On It

Ron Stein July 23rd, 2009

Finally. Some Madoff victims are starting to see IRS refunds, and some really lucky folks are even starting to receive their SIPC claim payments. So it stands to reason that if you’ve got a valid IRS and/or SIPC claim you, too, will be receiving perhaps a substantial refund. If not, chances are that you’re looking to protect what you still have. Most folks have already given some thought about these funds, yet many are wondering what to do? Read Full Post

Meet The Pros - The First in a Series of Interviews

Ron Stein June 9th, 2009

Howard R. Elisofon, partner in the New York law firm Herrick, Feinstein LLP is the securities attorney known most recently for his willingness to go after the SEC. Representing Madoff victim Phyllis Molchatsky and several others in this action, Elisofon has spoken at great length about his efforts in this case, and has been interviewed on many broadcasts and been quoted extensively in the press about this action and other issues pertinent to Madoff victims. We’re fortunate to have an opportunity to get some insight as to what motivates an attorney to take on the US government, and how. Read On-Line Interview

ALERT: Tax Refunds Coming – 30 Days and Counting! Are you ready?

Ron Stein May 7th, 2009

Yes, friends, thanks to Mr. Shulman and Company at the Internal Revenue Service, your tax refunds will be coming any day. We’ve heard that several have already received their refunds, and our communications with Internal Revenue confirmed the IRS’ intention to make sure that they complied with the 45 day timeframe normally allotted. This is great news!

DEAR IRVING – WILL THE REAL IRVING PICARD PLEASE STAND UP?

Ron Stein May 2nd, 2009

April 30, 2009
Mr. Irving Picard, Trustee
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities
c/o Baker Hostetler
45 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10111

Dear Irving:

Thank you for your recent posting on your Trustee site. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from you, and it was reassuring that you took the time to provide some clarification to us. But you have us pretty confused right now, because we’re trying to fathom this back and forth behavior you seem to be showing – threatening one moment, playing nice the next.

Speaking through attorney Mr. Hirshfield recently to the Wall Street Journal you announced your sending out of 223 “avoidance claim” clawback letters “seeking to get back all redemptions made by investors in the last six years.” Meanwhile, copies of the clawback letters began to circulate, letters that were cold, direct, and challenging. You could have prefaced the letters with words like “Dear Investor – we have reason to think that you may have taken out more money than you put in, and we’d like to discuss the situation with you.” Instead, regarding monies that an investor might have withdrawn, you preferred language like “the Trustee demands [emphasis mine] that you immediately return such amounts.…” Cold, cold, cold. Read Full Post

BEYOND THE IRS – A PONZI PUNCHLIST FOR CHANGE!

Ron Stein April 9th, 2009

Clearly, the IRS has chosen to offer a mostly beneficial, practical, and also self-serving avenue for Madoff and other Ponzi fraud victims. With their recent “Safe Harbor” revenue and procedure rulings, they’ve made life easier for a fair number of anxious victims. Unfortunately, while many victims will receive some restitution through IRS refunds in addition to SIPC claims, many others will receive little or none at all. Read Full Post

Madoff Justice? Not by a Long Shot!

Ron Stein March 12th, 2009

“OK” you’re saying. “Madoff is going to jail. How does that help me?” Unless you get some kind of bizarre satisfaction that penthouse living for several months followed by less-than-gruesome jail-time is sufficient punishment for maiming the lives of thousands of unsuspecting victims, you’re not jumping for joy. I’m sure not. “Is justice being served?” the media asks. I say “No, justice is not served until justice is done.” And justice cannot be done until a broad effort is made to restore to normal the lives of so many devastated by this, history’s greatest swindle. Read Full Post

A Place to Start: Six Steps to Sanity

Ron Stein February 23rd, 2009

Being a Madoff Victim is not a pleasant place to be. It’s a nasty situation, and it can feel like a lonely and confusing one as well. With lives turned upside down, many folks are wondering what to do and anxious about the future. People are looking for help, for information, for support. If you’re one of these, you’ve come to a good place. Welcome to the community of Madoff Help – we’ll try to provide insight, clarity, and even a bit of humor. You’re not alone anymore. Read Full Post

GRANT ME THE SERENITY: Helpful Words for Challenging Times
Inspiration from top grief specialist & therapist

Bobbie Comforto, LCSW, CT, February 12th, 2009

No one wants to hear that loss, change and suffering are inevitable… No one wants to be reminded that life is a series of losses, small & large, starting from birth & ending in death… No one wants to realize that we all suffer loss & change in one way or another. Yet behind every door is someone adjusting to change, adapting to crisis or coping with unsettling loss or tragedies. READ FULL POST