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Daily Archives: September 2, 2009

Executive Summary, Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme

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Report of Investigation, United States Securites and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General, Case No. OIG-509 Investigation of Failure of the SEC To Uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme, August 31, 2009.

  • Executive Summary: “The OIG investigation did not find evidence that any SEC personnel who worked on an SEC examination or investigation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC (BMIS) had any financial or other inappropriate connection with Bernard Madoff or the Madoff family that influenced the conduct of their examination or investigatory work…The OIG investigation did find, however, that the SEC received more than ample information in the form of detailed and substantive complaints over the years to warrant a thorough and comprehensive examination and/or investigation of Bernard Madoff and BMIS for operating a Ponzi scheme, and that despite three examinations and two investigations being conducted, a thorough and competent investigation or examination was never performed. The OIG found that between June 1992 and December 2008 when Madoff confessed, the SEC received six! substantive complaints that raised significant red flags concerning Madoffs hedge fund operations and should have led to questions about whether Madoff was actually engaged in trading. Finally, the SEC was also aware oftwo articles regarding Madoffsinvestment operations that appeared in reputable publications in 2001 and questioned Madoffs unusually consistent returns.”

    • Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History

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    News release: ” American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together “Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the… Continue Reading

    Bureau of Justice Statistics: Criminal Victimization, 2008

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    Criminal Victimization, 2008 – “Presents the annual estimates of rates and levels of personal and property victimization and describes the year-to-year change from 2007 as well as trends for the ten-year period from 1999 through 2008. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against… Continue Reading

    Key Issues in Modernizing the U.S. Freight-Transportation System for Future Economic Growth

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    Fast-Forward: Key Issues in Modernizing the U.S. Freight Transportation System for Future Economic Growth, by Richard Hillestad et al. “Efficient movement of freight within the United States and across its borders is a critical enabler of future U.S. economic growth. The authors discuss the role of the freight-transportation system in the supply chains of various… Continue Reading

    FASB Issues Exposure Draft for Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements

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    News release: “The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued an Exposure Draft (ED) of a proposed Accounting Standards Update intended to improve disclosures about fair value measurements. The proposed Update would improve Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures—Overall Subtopic (Subtopic 820-10) of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™, originally issued as FASB Statement No. 157, Fair… Continue Reading

    SEC's Role Regarding and Oversight of Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs)

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    SEC OIG: The SEC’s Role Regarding and Oversight of Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), Public Version, August 27, 2009. “The Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSRO), which are credit rating agencies that have been approved by the Commission, may have played a critical role in the current economic crisis and have been criticized in… Continue Reading