Connecticut Bank Is Drawn Into Madoff Scandal

[Robbien]

Source: NYT

According to the lawyers, their clients believed for more than a decade that they had an account at the Westport National Bank, a division of Connecticut Community Bank in Westport, from which they had received statements for many years. Early last week, they learned their money had actually been entrusted to Mr. Madoff, the lawyers said.

. . .

The lawyers handling the Florida investigation said their clients are a middle-aged professional couple in South Florida who had dealt with Westport National since at least 1996. They had been solicited to open an account at the bank by a promoter, whom the lawyers also declined to name.

The couple told their lawyers that they had always believed their money was being held and invested by the bank. They received regular statements from the bank showing deductions for “custodial fees” and “record-keeping fees” that totaled 4 percent a year, according to Adam T. Rabin, a partner at McCabe Rabin in West Palm Beach.

. . .

“The couple told us that they had seen the terrible news about the Madoff victims and said ‘Oh, those poor people,’ ” he added. “They had no idea that they were among those victims.”

Then, a few days after Mr. Madoff’s arrest, the couple came home to find a Federal Express envelope at their door. It contained a letter from Westport National Bank, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times.

. . .

“You may have learned of the recent allegations involving Bernard Madoff and his firm,” the letter continued. It then asked the couple to notify the bank if they wanted it to request that Mr. Madoff’s firm “return assets of yours to the bank.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/business/01madoff.html?ref=business

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Check your bank statements people.

[xchrom]

1. 'if' they wanted the assets returned? nt

[aquart]

2. Their bank account was NOT a bank account???

HOW?

[Robbien]

3. It happened at my bank too

I wanted to explore the bank's alternative investments to CDs and they sent me to a desk at the bank where the guy went through various investment vehicles. The guy gave me his card which had the bank's name on it.

Taking the stuff home to read there was info in the fine print that said the investments were not bank investments and later when talking to the guy I find out he is not an employee of the bank.

I didn't sign up, but the guy did tell me that any investment made would show up on my bank investment statement.

So yes, some accounts on a bank statement are not the bank's even though it may appear to be so.

The devil is in the details.

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. Stories like this, along with a functioning knowledge of how Wall Street works,

lead me to believe that Madoff is not the only one. He CAN'T be. It would not suprise me to learn that there are many, many more engaged in exactly the same kind of scheme.

[Robbien]

5. It wouldn't surprise you then if I told you the investment vechicle he offered

was through Blackstone.

Blackstone, the hedge fund player who right now is one of the four advisers Paulson is using to handle the bailout funds.

Blackstone which lost a lot of value this year
Blackstone which is a major player used by Merrill Lynch for their investments

Don't know if Blackstone is a ponzi similar to Madoff, but it sure is some kind of funny player in this whole mess we are having today.

[Karenina]

6. Can I get a BINGO?

An amen, a witness, a high-five, whatever you got!

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. What I suspect is, that Madoff was seeking new vehicles of investment.

The question is, how did so many financial consultants get snared into this without researching Madoff better? I think the answer is, that we are no longer a nation of experts. We are a nation of sellers.