Free Republic

MF Global‘s bankruptcy trustee is hinting at taking legal action against the brokerage firm’s top executives, blaming them in a new report for engineering a “risky business strategy” and ignoring “glaring deficiencies” in internal controls. In accusing Jon S. Corzine and other MF Global executives of “negligent conduct” that may have accelerated the firm’s demise, Louis J. Freeh, the trustee for MF Global Holdings and a former director of the F.B.I., laid the groundwork for potential litigation. The 124-page report filed in federal bankruptcy court early Thursday leveled its sharpest critique at Mr. Corzine, the former chief executive who was...

The National Futures Association, the self-regulatory group for the futures industry, faced an obstacle in considering a lifetime ban for Jon S. Corzine, the former Democratic senator who ran the now-defunct MF Global: Mr. Corzine isn’t a member, DealBook’s Ben Protess writes. The group convened on Thursday with two of its board members pushing for a ban of Mr. Corzine as punishment for his role in the demise of MF Global, which improperly used customer money. Mr. Corzine’s lack of membership wasn’t the only stumbling block. The group’s chairman said in a statement that the board “does not wish to...

Convicted Felons for Gun Control Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, advocated a ban on all semiautomatic firearms along with a prohibitive gun owner registration fee. Blagojevich also promoted a ban on so-called "pocket rockets," or easily concealable high-caliber handguns. With regard to the latter, many states' concealed carry laws require the firearm to remain exactly that: concealed. Even if it is not illegal to expose or "flash" the weapon, it is generally poor judgment to advertise the fact that you have a weapon. When one deals with liars like...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by former MF Global customers to depose the collapsed brokerage's former chief, Jon Corzine. In a written ruling in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Judge Martin Glenn said the Commodity Customer Coalition, which had sought permission to question Corzine and other former MF Global insiders, lacked standing because it is not a direct creditor in the case. The coalition, a grassroots group led by Chicago-based commodities trader James Koutoulas, bills itself as representing the interests of thousands of traders whose accounts at MF Global were frozen when the...

Harry Reid, Jon Corzine and other cronies that got away in 2012By Peter Schweizer Published December 12, 2012 FoxNews.com **SNIP** 2. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) For Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), politics is a family business. And when it comes to doling out the federal goodies to favored friends, few can compete with the Nevada senator. Sen. Reid has sponsored at least $47 million in earmarks that directly benefitted organizations that one of his sons, Key Reid, [RW1] either lobbies for or is affiliated with. Recently, another of Sen. Reid’s sons, Rory Reid, helped Chinese energy giant ENN Energy Group make...

Poor management decisions by MF Global's former CEO Jon Corzine triggered the brokerage firm's collapse, while lax protections for customer funds contributed to the loss of an estimated $1.6 billion of customer money, U.S. congressional investigators have determined.

Poor management decisions by MF Global's former CEO Jon Corzine triggered the brokerage firm's collapse, while lax protections for customer funds contributed to the loss of an estimated $1.6 billion of customer money, U.S. congressional investigators have determined. Evidence unearthed by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight puts the blame squarely on Corzine, the panel's chairman Rep. Randy Neugebauer, said in a preview of the report that will be released on Thursday.

Who broke the law by raiding customer accounts at MF Global Holdings MFGLQ +18.52% Ltd.? Investigators seem no closer to the answer than they were when the New York brokerage firm filed for bankruptcy exactly a year ago Wednesday, owing thousands of farmers and ranchers, hedge funds and other investors an estimated $1.6 billion. Their money was supposed to be stashed safely at MF Global, but company officials used much of it for margin calls and other obligations. The last, best hope for a breakthrough in the probe is Edith O'Brien, the former assistant treasurer at MF Global. Working in...

Corzine Asks Judge to Dismiss MF Global Fraud SuitBy PATRICK FITZGERALD October 23, 2012, 1:30 p.m. ET Lawyers for former MF Global Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Jon Corzine are asking a federal judge to toss a civil fraud lawsuit accusing him of misleading investors about the risky bets the futures firm was taking before its collapse a year ago. Mr. Corzine's lawyers blasted the investors' suit as a "jumble of assertions and accusations" that makes "no sense" that should be dismissed in a filing Friday in U.S. District Court in New York. A group of banks and underwriters—among them units...

The opportunities for hard-hitting ads for Romney abound. I cannot understand why he doesn’t see them! Here are just a few possibilities: 1.There were 3 black women that spoke eloquently at the Republican convention: Mia Love, Jane Edmonds, and Condoleezza Rice. An ad with all 3 speaking would be extraordinarily powerful. He could use another one with Hispanics, perhaps explaining why they came over to the Republican side. 2.Obama’s own past video clips are absolutely condemning. Remember the one that he says that his plan would necessarily make electric rates skyrocket? And the “one term proposition” one? The “redistributive change”...

Exclusive: Senior MF Global Executive Said Corzine Knew About Misuse of FundsBy Charlie Gasparino Published September 11, 2012 FOXBusiness In the days following MF Global’s stunning implosion last year, a senior executive at the firm made a startling concession to investigators looking into both the company’s demise and the loss of more than $1 billion in customer money, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. MF Global’s chief financial officer for North America, Christine Serwinski, told investigators that her boss, MF Global’s chief executive, Jon Corzine, was well aware of the use and possible misuse of the customer...

MF trustee can team up with plaintiffs against Corzine - judgeTrustee can assign claims against Corzine, other insiders By Nick Brown Thu Sep 6, 2012 3:02am IST NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A Manhattan bankruptcy judge said on Wednesday he was prepared to allow the trustee unwinding MF Global's broker-dealer to join forces with some of the company's former customers who have sued ex-Chief Executive Jon Corzine and other insiders. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said he will make his decision official when the trustee, James Giddens, files court papers outlining the details of the cooperative effort. The filing...

Corzine says MF trustee encroaching on his defenseBy Nick Brown Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:52am IST NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Former MF Global Chief Executive Jon Corzine is fighting efforts by a bankruptcy trustee to join forces with customers suing him over the commodities brokerage's demise. Corzine, along with other current and former MF executives, filed an objection in court on Wednesday arguing that their ability to defend themselves would be hurt if trustee James Giddens is allowed to assign his legal claims to plaintiffs in existing cases. The executives are defendants in multiple lawsuits accusing them of...

Corzine gets the New Black Panther treatmentBruce Johnson August 25, 2012 **SNIP** Jon Corzine is accused of using segregated customer funds for backing his bad trading decisions at the firm MF Global. The funds were indeed used for that purpose. People know who made the call. Immunity to them was not offered. Testimony of those who know what occurred and at whose hand, not wanted. Why? The referee doesn't really want to know.

Stock Market Watch reported: Best quotes from Koutoulas: “Crimes were unequivocally committed and I will do whatever I can to continue to do the government’s job for it and help see justice done.” “MF Global had a choice. Do we cheat or go out of business. And they cheated. They broke the law. And these took these customer funds to cover margin calls.” “Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is the biggest enabler of financial crime in U.S. history.” And the kill shot: “I will take this to all 50 states. And we will win. We will get a...

Jon Corzine Might Launch His Own Hedge FundHe is unlikely to face criminal charges over the failure of MF Global By Christopher Freeburn, InvestorPlace Writer Aug 17, 2012, 9:28 am EDT With reports circulating that federal regulators will not seek criminal charges in the collapse of brokerage MF Global, the firm’s former head, Jon Corzine is considering a new career option. The one-time Governor of New Jersey and former head of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), is mulling the idea of starting his own hedge fund, according to the New York Times. **SNIP** However, sources close to the former...

Authorities are winding down their criminal investigation of the failed brokarage firm, MF Global, and despite the lack of oversight and the loss of more than $1 billion in customer funds, it now seems unlikely that anyone at the firm will face criminal charges.

A criminal investigation into the collapse of the brokerage firm MF Global and the disappearance of about $1 billion in customer money is now heading into its final stage without charges expected against any top executives. After 10 months of stitching together evidence on the firm’s demise, criminal investigators are concluding that chaos and porous risk controls at the firm, rather than fraud, allowed the money to disappear, according to people involved in the case.

Those wondering why the Department of Justice has refused to go after Jon Corzine for the vaporization of $1.6 billion in MF Global client funds need look no further than the documents uncovered by the Government Accountability Institute that reveal that the now-defunct MF Global was a client of Attorney General Eric Holder and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer’s former law firm, Covington & Burling. There’s more. Records also reveal that MF Global’s trustee for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy retained as its general bankruptcy counsel Morrison & Foerester--the very law firm from which Associate Attorney General Tony West came to...

*snip* FBI agents arrested Russell Wasendorf, Sr., 64, of Cedar Falls on Friday. Federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint charging the CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., with making false statements to regulators and released documents detailing a wide-ranging fraud scheme that apparently fooled colleagues, customers and regulators for years *snip* Peregrine Financial Group, which marketed itself as PFGBest with offices in Chicago, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, the same day federal regulators filed civil fraud charges alleging the firm falsely claimed a bank account contained more than $220 million when it actually had about $6 million. The money in...