Investors Take Madoff to Bankruptcy Court
Ethics
A small group of investors took Bernard Madoff to bankruptcy court onMonday, saying the disgraced financier bilked them out of nearly $64million.
A Manhattan judge cleared the way for the newly filed Chapter 7petition last week by granting a request from the same investors tolift a temporary order barring bankruptcy for Madoff. They had arguedthat a bankruptcy case was needed to protect their rights amid anongoing scramble to seize his assets.
Madoff,70, pleaded guilty last month to federal charges his secretiveinvestment advisory service actually was a multibillion Ponzi scheme inwhich he paid longtime clients with money from new ones. He is jailed,awaiting a June sentencing for charges that carry a sentence of up to150 years in prison.
Federal authorities already have begunforcing Madoff to forfeit property they allege was paid for by hisfraud. In addition, a court-appointed trustee is liquidating assetsfrom his securities firm to help play claims from thousands of burnedinvestors.
The investors who sought bankruptcy believe it was thebest way to make sure "all the property available would go to thevictims," their lawyer, Jonathan Landers, said Monday.
Theyinclude a general partnership in Florida that claims it lost $30.2million and another Madoff client who says he lost about $29 million inpersonal and charitable trust accounts. The claims are based on amountslisted in the last statements they received from Madoff — documentsinvestigators say were fictitious.
Related listings
-
NM Claims Retirement Center Abused Patients
Ethics 03/19/2009The State of New Mexico claims Dr. Ali Ghaffari and his pharmacist wife owned and operated the substandard and abusive Buena Vista Retirement Center in Clovis, and bilked the state through Medicaid fraud. The state also sued Dr. Ali Ghaffari Sr., and...
-
Sexist Country Club Bans Phoenix Man
Ethics 02/26/2009A man says Phoenix Country Club expelled him for objecting to its policy that bars women from the grill. Russell Brown, an attorney, says that after he expressed his views to other members, to the Arizona Women Lawyer's Association and The New York T...
-
Woman Poses as Attorney to Smuggle Cigs
Ethics 02/11/2009A woman who police say posed as a lawyer to sneak into the Duval County jail no longer has any need to sneak in. Investigators say 37-year-old Louise Cortese has been arrested after smuggling tobacco products into the jail for her boyfriend, who's al...
USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.