JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley have agreed to pay out $100 million over claims they were involved in a Ponzi scheme at the now bankrupt mortgage lender American Business Financial Services (ABFS).The lawsuit alleged that ABFS had become insolvent in 2000, but made the impression it was still financially viable with the help of the Wall Street firms.Bear Stearns, which is now part of JPMorgan Chase, was also named in the lawsuit.George Miller, the ABFS’s bankruptcy trustee, was seeking at least $750 million from the banks on behalf of more than 20,000 people who lost their life savings when ABFS went bankrupt.JPMorgan Chase paid $55 million on behalf of it and Bear Stearns to settle the case, while Credit Suisse paid out $37.5 million and Morgan Stanley $7.5 million.The companies denied any wrongdoing.Last month, changes to the Security and Exchange Commission’s investigations policies into Ponzi schemes were recommended after it missed Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion worldwide fraud for years.
Posts Tagged ‘Wall Street Firms’
JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley pay $100m Ponzi fine
October 11th, 2009 
Before You Invest 
Posted in Finance Fraud 
Tags: 100 Million, 5 Million, Abfs, American Business Financial Services, Bankruptcy Trustee, Bear Stearns, Bernard Madoff, Business Financial Services, Chase Credit, Credit Suisse, George Miller, Jpmorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Mortgage Lender, Ponzi Scheme, Ponzi Schemes, Security And Exchange Commission, Wall Street, Wall Street Firms, Wrongdoing 
No Comments »NYSE to add partners to bolster options-trading business
September 10th, 2009 Before You Invest NYSE Euronext plans to sell stakes in its NYSE Amex division to major Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs Group, Bank of America and Citigroup. The goal is to give major options traders an incentive to trade on Amex, which has seen its market share plummet during the past 10 years.
While A-list Wall Street firms retrench, B-list firms thrive
August 11th, 2009 Before You Invest The financial crisis forced many Wall Street firms to shed staff and retrench, but some B-list companies, such as Schonfeld Group Holdings, prospered during the turmoil. The situation allowed smaller firms to recruit traders from the largest companies. The employment shift is emblematic of a larger change in the trading business. more athttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB124992646701020111.html
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Financial Crisis, Shed, Turmoil, Wall Street, Wall Street Firms, Wsj No Comments »SEC’s New Top Enforcer
April 14th, 2009 Before You Invest The new top cop at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is viewed as the best hope in years to root out financial fraud and convince fuming investors that the regulator that missed Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud is up to the job.Former federal prosecutor Robert Khuzami was picked to lead the SEC’s enforcement division at a time when investor confidence had been shattered during the worst financial crisis in decades.It was terrible enough that trillions of dollars evaporated from global markets and the government had to rescue Wall Street firms, but then it emerged in December that the SEC had failed to uncover Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme despite warning signs and complaints.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Bernard Madoff, Cop, Decades, Financial Crisis, Financial Fraud, Former Federal Prosecutor, Global Markets, Investor Confidence, Investors, Lead, Massive Fraud, Robert Khuzami, S 65, Sec, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Trillions, Wall Street, Wall Street Firms, Warning Signs No Comments »
