SEC says Madoff associates new of scam

CNN:

Associates of convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff knew he was scamming his clients but joined in anyway because of the big money they could make, a securities investigator testified in a sworn affidavit for a Connecticut court.

The testimony by investigator Edward H. Seidle on Tuesday came as a Connecticut judge froze the funds of Madoff and several of his business associates as part of a lawsuit filed for members of a city's retirement fund who say they invested with companies linked to Madoff.

In his affidavit, Seidle said Madoff's associates -- specifically the so-called "feeder funds" that handled money for Fairfield, Connecticut's retirement plan -- should have known that he was cheating his clients.

"It is my opinion ... that [the funds and their principals] were all aware that Bernard L. Madoff was engaging in illegal conduct in connection with his purported money management operations and intentionally chose to participate and support Madoff's illegal conduct in order to reap enormous illicit financial benefits," he stated.

He named feeder funds Tremont Properties, Maxam Capital, their principals and their affiliates in the affidavit.

...

Those prevented from liquidating any assets by Superior Court Judge Arthur Hiller's order include Madoff's wife, his sons and his brother, Peter.

Similar freezes have been ordered by judges in other suits by the roughly 4,000 alleged victims of Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Seidle said the people who ran the funds appear to have intentionally ignored red flags about how Madoff worked that anyone with their level of expertise would have noticed.

...


I find the affidavit persuasive. It is difficult to beleive that these funds did any due diligence since almost any at all would have revealed the scam. They should have looked at what Madoff was allegedly investing in and contacted those entities to determine if he actually owned any securities. That would have revealed that Madoff was basically running a bucket shop where no securities were actually being purchased.

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