CFTC commissioner fears "Ponzimonium"
CFTC commissioner fears "Ponzimonium"
23rd March 2009 15:13
An official with the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has said the body is facing "rampant Ponzimonium" in the wake of the Bernard Madoff scandal, with "hundreds" of suspected frauds under investigation.
CFTC commissioner Bart Chilton told the Financial Times that the body is seeing more pyramid schemes "than ever before".
So far in 2009, the CFTC has filed charges against 15 suspected Ponzi scheme operators. During the whole of last year, it brought 13 cases.
Mr Chilton told the newspaper that detection of the house-of-cards investment frauds has been improved by a combination of the economic downturn and the high-profile Madoff case, which is making more investors question the credibility of those offering miracle returns.
"In the last month alone we've gone after crooks in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Hawaii," he noted.
Ponzi schemes like the $50 billion (£34.4 billion) fraud orchestrated by Mr Madoff can hit investors across the globe.
Mr Madoff is currently awaiting sentencing. He faces up to 150 years in prison.
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23rd March 2009 15:13
An official with the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has said the body is facing "rampant Ponzimonium" in the wake of the Bernard Madoff scandal, with "hundreds" of suspected frauds under investigation.
CFTC commissioner Bart Chilton told the Financial Times that the body is seeing more pyramid schemes "than ever before".
So far in 2009, the CFTC has filed charges against 15 suspected Ponzi scheme operators. During the whole of last year, it brought 13 cases.
Mr Chilton told the newspaper that detection of the house-of-cards investment frauds has been improved by a combination of the economic downturn and the high-profile Madoff case, which is making more investors question the credibility of those offering miracle returns.
"In the last month alone we've gone after crooks in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Hawaii," he noted.
Ponzi schemes like the $50 billion (£34.4 billion) fraud orchestrated by Mr Madoff can hit investors across the globe.
Mr Madoff is currently awaiting sentencing. He faces up to 150 years in prison.
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