Posted on 12/07/2011 3:42:13 AM PST by tobyhill
The millions that Jon Corzine amassed as head of Goldman Sachs have become an alluring target for investors who were crushed by the collapse of MF Global, the brokerage firm he led until earlier this month.
And Corzine isn't the only one who may be financially vulnerable after the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Others include MF Global's other top executives; its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers; and some big Wall Street banks.
Even MF Global itself, which can't be sued while in bankruptcy protection, could sue its former executives.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
MF Global didn’t list the European debt on its balance sheet for all to see. Instead, those holdings were shifted to the company’s “off-balance sheet,” deep in its financial statements. Some separate filings with regulators excluded the European debt entirely.
Under a 2002 anti-corporate fraud law — which Corzine co-wrote as a U.S. senator — CEOs of public companies must personally certify the accuracy of their company’s financial statements.
~~~~~~~~~
Irony, anyone?
Enron scam——erasing/holding debt off the balance sheet.....that’s why Enron CFO Andy Fastow went to jail.
His wife also went to jail-—for signing fraudulent tax returns.
| Title | Name | Age | Salary | Bonus |
|---|
| Chairman and CEO | Jon S. Corzine | 64 | 36,458 |
1,500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President and COO | Bradley I. (Brad) Abelow | 52 | ||
| CFO | Henri Steenkamp | 35 | ||
| Global Head, Retail (ex-CFO) | J. Randy (Randy) MacDonald | 55 | 450,000 |
|
| Co-Head, Chicago | John Brady | |||
| Managing Director, Europe | James L. Rowsell | 53 | 339,129 |
1,500,000 |
| Co-Head, Chicago | Benita Levy | |||
| General Counsel | Laurie R. Ferber | 57 | 271,780 |
1,250,000 |
| Managing Director, North America | Thomas M. Harte | 58 | 289,059 |
200,000 |
| Global Head, Equities | Peter C. Forlenza | |||
| Chief Compliance Officer | Tracy L. Whille | |||
| Chief Risk Officer | Michael K. Roseman | 50 | 350,000 |
850,000 |
| Global Head Human Resources | Thomas F. Connolly | 53 | ||
| Global Head, Foreign Exchange | Paul G. Farrell |
| Title | Name | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman and CEO | Jon S. Corzine | 64 |
| Director | Robert S. Sloan | 47 |
| Director | Edward L. Goldberg | 71 |
| Director | Eileen S. Fusco | 54 |
| Director | Martin J. G. Glynn | 59 |
| Director | David P. Bolger | 54 |
| Director | David Gelber | 63 |
| Director | David I. Schamis | 37 |
Jon S. Corzine, 64
Mr. Corzine is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Before joining MF Global, Mr. Corzine most recently served as New Jersey's 54th Governor from January 2006 until January 2010. Before serving as Governor, he was elected to represent New Jersey in the United States Senate and served from January 2001 until January 2006. During his tenure as a United States Senator, Mr. Corzine served on the Senate Banking, Budget, Energy and Natural Resources, and Intelligence Committees.
Prior to serving in the United States Senate, Mr. Corzine was the Chairman and Senior Partner of The Goldman Sachs Group, L.P. from December 1994 to June 1998 and Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, L.P. from June 1998 to January 1999. Mr. Corzine began his career at Goldman Sachs as a bond trader in 1975. Mr. Corzine is also an operating partner and advisor at J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, which is an affiliate of the holder of MFGH's Series A Series. He also holds the title of John L. Weinberg / Goldman, Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for the 2010-2011 academic year.
On March 7, 2011, the Company's board of directors appointed Mr. Bradley Abelow, the Company's current Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Vice President, as its President and Chief Operating Officer. In this expanded role, Mr. Abelow, is responsible for overseeing the execution of the Company's strategy while continuing to oversee risk, client services, human resources, information technology, procurement and real estate activities.
Mr. Abelow joined the Company in September 2010 to be its Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Abelow was a founding partner in NewWorld Capital Group, LLC (NewWorld), a private equity firm investing in businesses active in the environmental sector. Before co-founding NewWorld, he served as Chief of Staff to Jon S. Corzine, Governor of the State of New Jersey and the Company's current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his service as Chief of Staff, Mr. Abelow served as Treasurer of the state of New Jersey. Before serving in New Jersey State government, Mr. Abelow was a partner and managing director of The Goldman Sachs Group (Goldman Sachs) where he managed the operations division of Goldman Sachs, which was responsible for the global processing and corporate services functions of the firm. Earlier, while based in Hong Kong, he was responsible for Goldman Sachs' operations, technology, risk and finance functions in Asia. Mr. Abelow joined Goldman Sachs in 1989 in its investment banking division's corporate finance department.
On March 2, 2011, the board of directors of MF Global Holdings Ltd. appointed Mr. Henri J. Steenkamp, age 34, the Company's Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Vice President, effective as of April 1, 2011. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Steenkamp, oversees MF Global's financial operations, including treasury, accounting, and all global financial control and reporting functions.
He is responsible for aligning MF Global's finance and capital structures to support the firm's business strategies and serves as a member of the firm's senior management team. Mr. Steenkamp reports to Jon S. Corzine, MF Global's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Steenkamp will also continue to hold his position as MF Global's Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Steenkamp joined the Company in 2006 as Vice President of External Reporting and was promoted to Chief Accounting Officer later that year. Before joining the Company, Mr. Steenkamp spent eight years with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), including four years in PwC's New York office as part of its Transaction Services group where he managed a variety of capital raising transactions on a global basis for multinational companies. Mr. Steenkamp is a chartered accountant.
Randy MacDonald, global head of retail, joined the company in April 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. Before joining MF Global, Mr. MacDonald held a number of positions at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. from 2000 to 2007, including executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, chief administrative officer and chief operating officer. Prior to joining TD Ameritrade, Mr. MacDonald was chief financial officer of Investment Technology Group, Inc., a specialized agency brokerage and technology firm. From 1989 to 1994, he was a vice president and group manager for Salomon Brothers. Earlier in his career, Mr. MacDonald was an audit senior manager at Deloitte & Touche focused on commercial banking, real estate joint ventures and financial services. He began his career at Ernst & Young performing financial audits with a focus on international operations. Mr. J. Randy MacDonald remained as the Company's Chief Financial Officer until the close of business on March 31, 2011, and thereafter continued to head the Company's retail operations.
Ms. Ferber is the General Counsel and is responsible for legal and compliance functions, has operational and administrative responsibility for the internal audit function, and is also responsible for the regulatory relationships. As a member of the Office of the CEO, she also plays a key role in developing and implementing MF Global's corporate strategy. Prior to joining MF Global in 2009, Ms. Ferber was general counsel and chief regulatory officer for International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG). From 1987 to 2008, she held a number of business and legal positions at Goldman, Sachs, including roles in J. Aron & Company, the Economic Derivatives group, the Power Trading group, the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities group, and Business Selection and Conflicts. Earlier in her career, Ms. Ferber was general counsel of Drexel Burnham Lambert Trading Corp. and also traded energy products. She was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and at Schulte, Roth & Zabel. Ms. Ferber earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Financial Markets and New York University School of Law, and is a member of the Lincoln Center Business Council.
Mr. Roseman has served as the Chief Risk Officer since August 2008. He is responsible for the overall management of MF Global's risk department worldwide including market, credit, and operational risk. Before joining MF Global, Mr. Roseman served as chief risk officer for the Americas at Newedge Group. He joined Newedge (formerly, Fimat, USA) in 2004 before its merger with Calyon, and while at Newedge, he oversaw all aspects of risk related to their Americas brokerage business. Before his position at Newedge, Mr. Roseman headed U.S. risk oversight at Bank of Montreal from 2001 to 2004. He also held several positions at Sanwa Financial Products from 1994 to 2001 including head of market risk. Mr. Roseman has a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the Kenan Flagler Graduate School of Business at the University of North Carolina.
Mr. Bolger was the Chief Operating Officer of Chicago 2016, the effort to bring the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Chicago. Prior to assuming that role, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Aon Corporation, the world's largest insurance and reinsurance intermediary.
Prior to joining Aon, Mr. Bolger worked for 21 years at Bank One Corporation and its predecessor companies, serving in various roles including President of American National Bank & Trust Company of Chicago. Mr. Bolger serves as a Director of MF Global Holdings, Ltd., a NYSE company headquartered in New York City, and as a director of the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Chicago History Museum, and Merit School of Music, all of Chicago. Mr. Bolger also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and on the Dean's Advisory Council of Marquette University's College of Business Administration. Mr. Bolger has extensive experience in commercial banking, risk management, financial reporting and financial control. Mr. Bolger is Chair of the Board's Credit Risk Committee.
Ms. Fusco is a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Directors. Ms. Fusco retired as a Senior Partner of Deloitte & Touche's Financial Services Industry Group, where she was a Partner from 2001 to 2007. From 1997 to 2000, Ms. Fusco was Regional Tax Counsel of UBS AG. In 1996, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Twenty-First Securities Corporation, a firm that specialized in structured transactions. From 1992 to 1995, Ms. Fusco was a Managing Director and Director of Tax of Kidder, Peabody & Co., Inc. Ms. Fusco began her career as a Tax Partner at Ernst & Young LLP and Spicer & Oppenheim. Until it was recently sold, she was also a board member and Audit Committee Chair of ICT Group, Inc., a company listed on the NASDAQ, Vice Chair of Pro Mujer International. Ms. Fusco is both an attorney and a certified public accountant and received a B.A. from Douglass College, a J.D. and M.B.A. (Accounting) from Rutgers University.
From Corzine, Directors Sued by MF Global Employees - WSJ (no sub), by Julie Steinberg, 2011 December 06
"Jon Corzine and the board breached their fiduciary duty to their employees and destroyed their careers and retirement savings," Jacob Zamansky, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in an email. The plaintiffs are Monica Rodriguez, the New York-based head of credit for the Americas, and Cyrille Guillaume, the London-based managing director of the commodities and stock division. Plaintiffs are seeking class action status for all employees who acquired MF Global shares between May 20, 2010 and Nov. 3, 2011 through company-supported plans. At the time of the company's bankruptcy Oct. 31, the firm had close to 2,900 employees. ..... < snip > The employees did not file suit against MF Global, the company itself, because it is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. .....< snip >
Two former employees of MF Global have filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm's former Chief Executive Jon Corzine, other senior executives and board directors on behalf of themselves and current and former employees who acquired stock in the company while Corzine led the firm. ..... < snip >
"Rats" are fleeing from the "MF ship" and are turning on Corzine:
From MF Global ignored warnings on European bets - NYP, 2011 December 06
Sources told the newspaper that the executive, Michael Roseman, also took up the matter directly with then chairman and CEO Jon Corzine. But Corzine, former governor of New Jersey and ex-chairman of Goldman Sachs, told Roseman that his gloomy scenarios were too extreme and would not come to fruition, the sources said. Roseman resigned from MF Global in March, according to the WSJ. ..... < snip > MF Global Holdings' chief risk officer told the board several times of his concerns about the firm's bet on European bonds, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
From Missing MF Global money potentially found in UK: report - NYP, 2011 November 29
MF Global transferred the funds in the days before the firm filed for bankruptcy, the unnamed sources said, raising potential legal questions over the transaction. ..... < snip > LONDON -- Roughly $200 million in funds believed to belong to clients of bankrupt trading firm MF Global has reportedly been found at J.P. Morgan Chase in the UK. ..... < snip >
From CFTC 'Going to Go After' MF Global: Commissioner - CNBC, by Jeff Cox, 2011 December 05
Citing a belief that the company acted "potentially nefarious, potentially illegally," Chilton said in an interview that, "We're going to go after it." "The books are a mess," he said. "Job one for us is to not only find the money but get that money back to customers and to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anybody who is involved in any illegal activity." ..... < snip > Chilton said a number of regulatory failures helped cause the problems, and he's hoping a hearing later today begins to address some of those issues. In particular, he is concerned with making sure customer money does not get commingled with the investment bets the company makes. ..... < snip > Criminal charges are likely involving MF Global, the bankrupt broker-dealer that went bust due to bets it made on European debt, Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Bart Chilton told CNBC.
On December 5, during its scheduled meeting, CFTC tightened some regulations; specifically, some of the instruments explicitly can no longer be considered as "safe" investments for "sweeping" customers accounts.
From Pols on MF: Bad watchdog! - NYP, by Kaja Whitehouse, 2011 December 07
As head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Gensler was the top regulator for the commodity futures brokerage house before it went bust on Halloween. Gensler recused himself from the CFTC's probe into up to $1.2 billion missing from MF's customers accounts following the company's messy bankruptcy last month, because MF's CEO, Jon Corzine, was his former boss at Goldman Sachs. Yesterday, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, top lawmakers skewered Gensler for not recusing himself prior to MF's bankruptcy, saying he got out when the going got tough so he could sidestep questions about his role in the firm's collapse. ..... < snip > Financial watchdog Gary Gensler was blasted yesterday for his handling of the MF Global fiasco, with Capitol Hill lawmakers accusing him of "evading" questions and "ducking" his responsibilities.
It SHOULD be a blot on Obama, But the media will probably obfuscate.
MF Global WAS an excellent company, tracing it roots back to 1782. Think of all it saw in 230 years. Then this robber baron Corzine ruins it in less than two years, $ 1.2 billion in customer funds disappear, and the futures market is ruined. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange broke all of its own rules covering for him on this.
Thank you for ping. Excellent posts, which will no doubt be helpful as we follow this.
Especially interesting (and potentially most damaging to Cozine) from your post.
Michael Roseman
“MF Global Holdings’ chief risk officer told the board several times of his concerns about the firm’s bet on European bonds, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Sources told the newspaper that the executive, Michael Roseman, also took up the matter directly with then chairman and CEO Jon Corzine. But Corzine, former governor of New Jersey and ex-chairman of Goldman Sachs, told Roseman that his gloomy scenarios were too extreme and would not come to fruition, the sources said. Roseman resigned from MF Global in March, according to the WSJ.”
My guess is that Corzine is instructed by his lawyers to plead the Fifth during the Congressional committees hearings. He'll be humiliated one way or the other, but he won't have to face "lying to Congress" charges.
But there is no love lost for Corzine from former employees like Michael Roseman. Everybody is looking to save their own skin now, so it could pose the big problem for Corzine and few other people at MFGH.
Another thing to watch - Roseman left MFGH in March 2011; "coincidentally," on March 2 the board appointed new CFO - Henri J. Steenkamp which took effect, ironically, on April 1, 2011 (April Fool's Day). That might be significant because of the timing of money transfers.
New CFO is young and aggressive, and also holds the position of Chief Accounting Officer (responsible for the "messy books"). "Mr. Steenkamp spent eight years with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), including four years in PwC's New York office as part of its Transaction Services group where he managed a variety of capital raising transactions on a global basis for multinational companies". PwC happened to be the audit firm of MF Global.
The ex-CFO, Randy MacDonald was moved laterally, within the company. He should very be interested in cooperating with investigation. Unlike Michael Roseman, he was with the company at the time when most of the shenanigans seem to have gone into overdrive.
It should be interesting to see how this CFO "switch" dynamic plays. I would start looking at the possible differences and changes in the "books," money transfers and the balance sheet reporting starting right around March-April period. Might also help find "missing" money from the customers' accounts.
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