A Medfield brokerage firm has a tentative green light to buy the trading arm of Bernard L. Madoff's investment business.
Castor Pollux Securities, a small company started six years ago, would pay up to $15.5 million for the New York-based stock-trading business at which Madoff first made his name, under a potential deal approved by a Manhattan bankruptcy judge yesterday. If higher offers come in to the trustee selling Madoff's assets, there will be an auction for the trading business later this month.
Darin S. Oliver, 46, president and owner of Castor Pollux, declined to comment on the pending deal. His firm, which is licensed to do business in 13 states, to date has focused on private placements, or securities that are not publicly traded. The Madoff deal would be an entree for his firm to trade public securities.
Oliver is a Michigan native who got his start in the securities business as a floor runner at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, according to a biography on his website. He says he is an experienced options trader and has worked at a number of large firms, including the former Drexel Burnham Lambert and Bear Stearns & Co. He held investment positions in Paris and Tokyo in the 1990s, according to his website and regulatory records.
Irving H. Picard, the trustee responsible for liquidating Madoff's assets and securing money for the convicted Ponzi artist's victims, said the brokerage stopped operating Dec. 12 - the day after Madoff's arrest. The group's remaining employees were let go in March. Picard, in a press release, said, "significant capital is required to restart operations."
One Boston investment executive whose firm examined Madoff's brokerage decided not to bid, he said, mainly because of the potential risk of taking on a business owned by a man who ran a multibillion-dollar fraud. Madoff is in jail awaiting his June sentencing and faces up to 150 years in prison.
In a statement on the Castor Pollux website, Oliver said Madoff's brokerage was "one of the top market-making operations for equities on Wall Street," with cutting-edge technology and "many honest and very talented employees." He said he would likely hire back some of the people who were fired. The Massachusetts Securities Division said it has no records of disciplinary actions against Castor Pollux - named for twin brothers in Greek mythology - or its owner.
Pffft! Who gives a s*** where they got their damn name?
No wonder the Globe is tanking.
NEW YORK - The Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department told a federal judge that Bernard Madoff need not be forced into personal bankruptcy to ensure that all his assets are used to pay those he stole from.
The SEC yesterday opposed a request by victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme to push him into bankruptcy, saying it would lead to wasteful litigation. The SEC said Madoff's assets, once recovered by the regulator and the Justice Department, will be distributed to victims and creditors. The victims fear that the assets won't be turned over to them, the agency said....
Creditors last week petitioned to put Madoff into bankruptcy. They included Blumenthal & Associates, with a claim of $30.2 million; Martin Rappaport, who claimed $20.8 million; and a trust bearing his name, which claimed an additional $8.3 million. A judge must approve their request before the victims may formally seek to force Madoff into bankruptcy.
"We're disappointed that the SEC is taking this position," said Jonathan Landers, a lawyer with Milberg LLP, which represents the petitioners. "The bankruptcy court has well-established mechanisms to gather and return assets. We're not confident that the SEC or the Justice Department can do as well."
With good reason: U.S. Government Knew About Madoff Scheme Since 1960
Federal prosecutors have identified more than $100 million in real estate, cash, bonds, art, autos, boats, and other assets owned by Madoff and his wife, Ruth, which they said in March they intend to seize. The SIPC, a government-backed corporation that covers losses when brokerages fail, is conducting a broad investigation of the assets of Madoff's New York-based firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. SIPC investigators so far have identified about $1 billion in assets, which will be used to compensate investors.
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"Victims take Madoff to bankruptcy court" by Associated Press | April 14, 2009
NEW YORK - A small group of investors took Bernard Madoff to bankruptcy court yesterday, saying the disgraced financier bilked them out of nearly $64 million.... Also yesterday, lawyers for the Connecticut town of Fairfield said they obtained court orders securing $25 million in assets belonging to defendants they are suing in relation to Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
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