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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: anniebonny who wrote (105806)	1/17/2009 11:52:29 AM
From: scion	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

Idaho Man Accused of Ponzi Scheme JANUARY 17, 2009, 2:00 A.M. ET By WILLIAM M. BULKELEY and STEVE STECKLOW online.wsj.com Idaho securities regulators are investigating allegations that a money manager in the state operated a long-running Ponzi scheme that cost investors as much as $100 million. Marilyn Chastain, securities bureau chief for the state's Department of Finance, said a formal investigation of Daren Palmer of Idaho Falls has been opened following a meeting with about 30 investors there. Mr. Palmer couldn't be reached for comment. It was the latest of a number of cases, the most prominent of which focuses on New York's Bernard Madoff, that involve alleged Ponzi schemes in which money raised from new investors pays off earlier investors. The case has rattled the business community in Idaho Falls, an agricultural center where many residents work for the federal government's nuclear-reactor test facility. "We think there is a pretty significant amount of money involved -- tens of millions maybe," Ms. Chastain said. Kevin Taggart, a local real-estate agent who claims he lost $600,000, said that after talking with other people who fear they were victimized, "as near as we can tell, we lost $100 million," in total. Mr. Taggart is one of the investors who met with state regulators. The complaints involve Mr. Palmer, 40 years old, and Trigon Group Inc., a company with an office in Idaho Falls that investors say was owned by him. Neither Mr. Palmer nor the firm are registered as investment advisers with state securities regulators. An Idaho Falls couple, Mark and Penny Peterson, earlier this month filed a civil suit in Bonneville County, Idaho, district court accusing Mr. Palmer and his wife of owing them $500,000 that they said he put into a hedge fund he managed. The couple alleges that the Palmers promised in July to deposit the money -- payment for a tract of land they said they sold him -- in the hedge fund. But they say when they tried to collect money from the account -- in Trigon Group -- the Palmers failed to pay them or return the property. Mr. Taggart said he started investing with Mr. Palmer about seven years ago after hearing from other investors that the money manager was "doing very well" for them. Mr. Taggart said he was promised 25% to 40% annual dividends on his investment. He said he began by investing $100,000 and, when returns matched the promises, he continued to invest more each year. "He just seemed so legit," Mr. Taggart said. "He grew up in the area." Investors didn't become alarmed until July, when Mr. Palmer began telling some of them he needed a few more weeks to pay their quarterly dividends. By October, a group of investors demanded a meeting with Mr. Palmer. He told them that in the bad market, "he was getting lots of margin calls and couldn't get out," Mr. Taggart recalled. Even then, most investors decided to trust him. But on Jan. 2, a group met with him and was told by Mr. Palmer, "It's all gone," Mr. Taggart said. Write to William M. Bulkeley at bill.bulkeley@wsj.com and Steve Stecklow at steve.stecklow@wsj.com Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B4 online.wsj.com

To: anniebonny who wrote (105806)	1/17/2009 1:51:08 PM
From: scion	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

Money Manager Is Missing in Florida January 17, 2009 By REUTERS nytimes.com MIAMI — A Florida money manager is missing and the police have opened an investigation into the possible disappearance of “hundreds of millions” of dollars, according to the authorities. The police are searching for Arthur Nadel, 75, a prominent Sarasota philanthropist and fund manager who was reported missing by his family Wednesday. He left a note, described as a suicide note by The Sarasota Herald- Tribune, that reported that investors could be out as much as $350 million. The Sarasota police are investigating complaints from at least five investors in Mr. Nadel’s funds, run from a management office in Sarasota, that their money has disappeared. “It was brought to our attention that there has been a very significant number of victims with a very significant amount of money that has disappeared,” Captain Bill Spitler of the Sarasota police said. “Allegedly it’s hundreds of millions of dollars.” The investigation began just over a month after the authorities arrested Bernard L. Madoff, the suspected mastermind of a Ponzi scheme that may have cost investors $50 billion. Lieutenant Chuck Lesaltato, a spokesman for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, said investigators were told Mr. Nadel left his home in a Sarasota suburb Wednesday morning for work but later called his stepson and told him there was a note at his house. The family then called the police. “They thought he was distraught,” Lesaltato said, adding that he could not divulge the contents of the note. “We are following up a couple of leads. We are concerned for his safety.” The newspaper reported that Neil Moody, an associate of Mr. Nadel, told investors in a statement that the funds “may have virtually no remaining value.” It said Mr. Moody had contacted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other authorities to report the situation. A call to the fund’s offices was not returned. Spitler said that the police investigation began on Friday afternoon after calls from at least five possible victims and that many more called after news of the situation broke. “You’re talking about people who have lost the majority of their life savings,” he said. “We are investigating all of the funds at that place.” “Many of our victims have lost $500,000 and up,” he said. Mr. Nadel’s wife, Peg, told the newspaper: “The way I want to be represented is we are totally open and cooperative with all our clients and the authorities, and that includes the SEC. “We have nothing to hide. But until our counsel has a statement prepared for us to make public, we cannot comment on what is happening here.” nytimes.com