Comments on: Breaking Down Bernie Madoff P2 & 3

By: S.Jacobs

S.Jacobs — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:37:22 +0000

We’ve been issuing NYSE & NASDAQ long/short trading signals, non-leveraged, min. $5.00 @ shr., since 4/10/2006. Cumulative gross profit is 108% through 3/20/2009, worst drawdown 10% of equity. Now, if one disbelieves ability to get executed as reported, so let’s cut the return 50%, so say it was 54% over the last approx. 3 yrs. Not a barn burner, but far better than even what Madoff reported.

Saying that, the moron investors gave Madoff $billions, wherein we are mere egg heads with our own software, workstations, working outta a loft apt. vs. paying Lipstick Bldg. rent with stolen client funds. But we are relatively new, not old school like Madoff, so have no legacy reputation — nor trappings of BS — to garner the client investments for our legit operation.

By: mike

mike — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:57:20 +0000

If you watch this (at 3:00) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab1NTIlO-FM
you will see the person called Josh & his team of 7 doing the algorithms. I’d love to know what algorithm that is !

By: g sherman

g sherman — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:26:01 +0000

It makes total sense that it was an AS/400, they have the easiest user interface compared to other mainframes. A non-programmer could easily update a Prices table using its built-in Data File Utility (ie no software required for that).
A custom program written years ago by a contract programmer could create fake trade transactions and positions, and create and print thousands of client statements each month. Because the fake equity and options positions were always sold by monthend, the next statement was like a new tale retold.
As long as one of the admin staff had security officer password for the machine, they could easily navigate around the AS/400 and run backups, load the printer with paper, whatever. As a consultant, I used to visit many AS/400 shops that had no programmers or IT staff employed full time.

By: m jordan

m jordan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:43:16 +0000

I think government should put him/his wife /and children in jai and don’t let him pull a fast one with his property.l

By: Reb Famod

Reb Famod — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:48:39 +0000

Mark-
You’re a smart guy, for sure. If you’re really perplexed on how the Madoff enteprise worked–visit bernard-madoff-scam.blogspot. and read in-between the lines..

By: SD

SD — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:46:31 +0000

Mark,

I am trying to send a business plan to your open funding forum. Is this the right place.

Thanks, SD

By: ralphdaugherty

ralphdaugherty — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:51:06 +0000

well said. I have a relatively small (but much more powerful than a PC) AS/400 iseries in my apartment on a business class internet connection. The iseries where I work handles a multi-billion dollar corporation.

It is supermodern but also runs anything developed for it or its predecessors since the IBM midrange line was invented forty years ago. It is not an oddity that we find that was what Madoff was running his business on. It’s what I would expect, as I posted earlier in this thread when word first came out that Madoff was running on an “old IBM computer”.

The company I work for, and several multi-billion dollar companies I have worked for, are upgrading to the newest release of that “old” IBM computer even as we speak, with the i 6.1 operating system, which includes AIX Unix built in and Linux running concurrently with it. Lots of new development for the Power i operating system is done with Java and PHP, as well as the RPG, COBOL, and C++.

So nothing old about it at all except it’s been successfully running businesses of all sizes in every sector for a long, long time.

By: iSeries bigot

iSeries bigot — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:44:16 +0000

As a IT professional who has worked on the AS400-iSeries-Power i platform since 1987. IBM changed the name numerous times for marketing purposes. For over twenty years, it has continually maintained a reputation as the most technically advanced and reliable business computing platform. My career has focused on the platform and I have seen it operational in many industries including bowling alleys, casinos, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, health care, pharmaceutical, transportation, retail, education, government and the full range of banking operations of retail, mortgage and investment. It can be sized to support a small ‘mom and pop’ store to an international multi-site corporation. In investment banking, it is technically capable to handle tasks belonging to front and back office trading processes depending on the software since it supports either Unix, Linux, Lotus Domino or its proprietary iOS simultaneously on the same footprint. However, like all machines, the computer is just a tool and subject to human whims and desires. Whether the Madoff Corp. or SETI Institute, the AS/400-iSeries-Power i is simply the tool of choice with the owners determining the data and how is used.

By: Kamal

Kamal — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:21:57 +0000

Read this which dates back to 2001. Even back then there were skeptics:

http://www.nakedshorts.typepad.com/files/madoff.pdf

Once they start digging deeper into the feeder funds, they will find their answers.

By: ralphdaugherty

ralphdaugherty — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:33:59 +0000

Hi Mark, it’s Ralph, but I’ll take the compliment anyway. thanks.

Stanford clearly was “juicing” his returns Ponzi style. The number of rich investors who have lost everything in investment funds due to fraud in the last couple of months is just staggering.

Both Madoff and Stanford had inconsequential or non-existant auditing. In a way this is America, you should be able to do what you want with your money, but there should be no implicit stamp of approval if there’s no oversight.

And I think it’s fair to say the tens of thousands of investors who lost everything thought there was a stamp of approval based on oversight.

They can make all sorts of noises about bolstering regulations but after the dot com crash and now this, not to mention the S&L fraud earlier, I can’t imagine that people will believe that even good auditing is worth trusting their money with anymore.