PJM Exclusive: Congress Questions SEC Chief’s Involvement in New Madoff Scandal
Two congressional leaders are directly challenging Security and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro as a new Bernard Madoff scandal engulfs the agency, this one involving charges of conflicts of interest by Schapiro’s own general counsel.
Pajamas Media has obtained a copy of the letter sent to the SEC chairwoman.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) today sent the letter, demanding she explain why the she appointed General Counsel David Becker to represent the agency in the Ponzi scheme fraud case when she allegedly knew that Becker had personally profited from Madoff. The lengthy letter, which asks 35 questions of Schapiro and her aides, calls the allegations “alarming.”
“Becker’s participation in any aspect of the Commission’s involvement with the aftermath of Madoff’s fraud suggests multiple conflicts of interest,” the two tell Schapiro in the letter. Her failure raises “further questions about its management and independence.“
Rep. Issa is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He has recently reinvigorated the committee’s examinations of government fairness and openness. Sen. Grassley is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
An aggressive congressional probe regarding another SEC/Madoff scandal may give President Obama new headaches, raising fresh questions about the president’s promise of clean government, fairness towards wronged investors, and handling of the economy. It also could weaken or endanger Schapiro’s tenure.
The charge that the SEC may have shortchanged Madoff victims, however, may carry the biggest impact of all.
Schapiro apparently assigned Becker to represent the agency in the aftermath of the Madoff case even while reportedly knowing his family had received money from Madoff. Becker’s late mother’s estate is named defendant in a lawsuit seeking $1.5 million in profits they made from Madoff. The lawsuit was filed by Irving Picard, the official trustee who is trying to recover money for the Madoff victims.
As Madoff said in his interview, the government too is a Ponzi scheme. Best to keep the operators in charge as long as possible, says every new incarnation of Carlo Ponzi.
B-b-b-but-but-but…..this is the Most Ethical Administration© Evah…..!
Harry Markopoulos book – No One Would Believe Me – documents his stalking of Madoff over a decade. W
Harry Markopoulos’ book – No One Would Believe Me – documents his pursuit of Madoff over a frustrating decade. He certainly thinks poorly of the SEC staff – short summary of his assessment – a bunch of over-educated naifs with no street smarts or ability to sniff out fraud. Puffs himself up quite a bit, but still a worthwhile read.
I’m guessing there won’t be an answer. And after multiple requests and threats from Issa and Grassley, some claim of executive privilege precludes her from answering.
It’s all part of the new transparency in government.
if the government shut down and the whole SEC stayed home, would anybody notice?
They’d have to pay for their own porn.
I worked for a large insurance firm that also provided investment portfolios.
After one presentation I was informed that I had missed the clients return of equity on a 10,000 dollar investment stock by .5 percent.
Later that year I received a letter from the SEC informing me that I might lose my license and become subject to a 10,000 dollar fine if they found me negligent. (interesting number)
Now we find out Bernie missed his portfolios by 50,000,000,000 billion percent and no one suffered at the SEC.
I hope many, many, heads continue to roll off this group of clowns.
His Mother’s estate? That means his own money, does it not? $1.5 mil? No, that would not affect his judgment. Not a bit. Sure I’ll sign off on a waiver.
Does the clown who gave him the waiver get prosecuted or not? At least fire him! I am sick of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge crowd. Make it cost to play that game.
fire every last one–then you will get the right ones
6. Duke
“if the government shut down and the whole SEC stayed home, would anybody notice?”
Of course we would, and most of us would applaud while breathing a huge sigh of relief.
Ethics are for the Little People, doncha know. Get used to it. This is what Crony Capitalism is all about.
Congress, the House GOP in this case, is NOT going to do anything about it, except blow hot air; these ‘non-representing’ representatives are spineless, especially this clown Issa.
Congress, and all politicians in Congress are corrupt. Electing a Chicagoland pol to the Oval Office couldn’t have made this more clear. The fraud in the WH has also made clear that the electoral process is a farse.
This farse has undermined the American Republic as much as the failures of Capitalism and the wholesale abandonment of Christianity combined. The West in general and America in specific are the skeletal remains, corpses really, of their glorious past.
Everyone the D.C. establishment turns to when a problem pops up, turns out to have been a party to the problem. The entire arrangement is incestuous in nature. Nothing will get better and corruption will only expand until we stop looking to Washington to solve problems.
Do you feel your investments are safe?
Do you think your account statement reflects the balance in your account?
Do you know that while Irving Picard is questioning and accusing JP Morgan Chase and the owners of the NY Mets, that he’s also pursing innocent investors?
Do you know that there’s no guarantee that your broker is not a crook?
Read how Congress is helping and how you can support the safety of your own investments. Please sign our petition to help all investors.
http://t.co/MbmIGy7
Without this legislation, no American investor can feel safe.