PFG freezes accounts, CEO attempts suicide

[brocklanders]

Quote from bone:

Well, the real spine of the issue is: how many corporations and financial entities are audited by accountants too lazy and too incompetent to directly confirm the entity's account balance figures against what the Bank can confirm ?

The real kicker with this is that somehow (accidentally?) the NFA actually received the real U.S. Bank statement last year showing only a 10MM balance. They then apparently contacted Wasendorf (or he found out from the inside) who then sent them the "correct" one showing 200MM+ and then NFA left it at that even after having seen both conflicting statements for the same account!!! I'm starting to think it was more willful incompetence rather than laziness. So much for self regulation.

 

[HurricaneUS]

scratch my previous statement...

Pricewaterhouse Coopers was the auditor for MF Global..so that's a dead end

 

[bone]

It's not just the NFA quite frankly.

Or even the securities industry.

I now question everything done by an auditor. Look at what happened with Arthur Andersen LLP and the Enron debacle.

 

[Swan Noir]

No auditing firm can possibly pick up on a fraud that is committed within a few months of collapse. as in the MF case. BUT PFG was years ... maybe decades.

Quote from HurricaneUS:

scratch my previous statement...

Pricewaterhouse Coopers was the auditor for MF Global..so that's a dead end

 

[StarDust9182]

Quote from HurricaneUS:

The larger question is:

Who else may be embezzling customer funds?

I'm now convinced that there may be more firms in the same predicament.

What other firms are sending out red flags similar to PFG and MF Global?

let's start this discussion....

My vote is for the FED and the government. Both are sending out red flags and it is astounding to me how many don't realize how serious the problems are.

 

[cdcaveman]

Quote from HurricaneUS:

which brings up a good point..in many of the fraud cases the outside auditor is in the pocket of the auditee (aah humm..inactive cpa here)...

a good start would be to check who the outside auditor is for a particular firm and start there....

"Bubba's CPA Firm" for a large broker would peak my interest...

Personally, if it's not a top-tier CPA firm this would also peak my interest

i would love to start a business with a bunch of professional traders bear raiding companies that are full of crap!

 

[StarDust9182]

Quote from bone:

It's not just the NFA quite frankly.

Or even the securities industry.

I now question everything done by an auditor. Look at what happened with Arthur Andersen LLP and the Enron debacle.

When sino forest stopped trading, I wondered about their auditors. I then googled "lawsuits against ernst and young" and was amazed at what I read.

My conclusions:

1) Most auditors must have huge legal bills these days.

2) What the heck do auditors get paid for these days? Reading their boilerplate paragraphs in financial statements seem to say, we can't really audit and take no responsibility but want the huge fees anyways.

3) The markets have grown more risky in the last decade or so.

4) But who will watch the watchers?

 

[TraDaToR]

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ed2c39c-d17b-11e1-bb82-00144feabdc0.html#axzz20wkXLbtN

 

[bwolinsky]

Quote from kinggyppo:

not a peep from BoWo, I am actually concerned, Bowo are you out there?

Sorry, comp's down after 6 years.

Upgrading to a 6x 10 core that will be the foundation of the networks I'm developing for FCM's.

 

[bwolinsky]

Quote from achilles28:

Trust me, YOU are a complete and total MORON if you believe this fairy tale was a one man operation. Unlike you, I actually do have a bit of small business experience in finance and accounting operations (>100 employees), and know for a fact accountants and CFO's have direct and daily access to their bankers, deposit accounts, lines of credit and bank statements, which they require on a daily/weekly basis to DO THEIR JOB. I never said I had little to no experience. I said YOU DO. I have some, and apparently much more than the losers on this thread who'd believe the tooth fairy stole their money if the CFTC said so. Think it about, you dumbass. There's at least 2 CPA's over at PFG who run the numbers on a weekly basis, bare minimum. Never mind the regulators, or external auditors. That's at least 3 PEOPLE who knew what was up, on the inside. Next enter the auditors and regulators who are supposed to verify by checking source documents. That's what an audit is, Corky. Or what? You suppose an auditor *checks the math* on the balance sheet a firm submits? Are you fucking kidding me??! Then there's the good ol' NFA. A PO BOX?? Were you born fucking yesterday? You know, after reading the responses on this thread, I can't believe the level of naivety shown by so-called "traders" who are supposed to exhibit a level of cunning and sophistication light years ahead of the sheep on the street. No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket.

Actually, Wasendorf could have done wires all day long at a moment's notice at US Bank.

Just about every week before this happened, I had been wiring multi-thousand dollar checks and all they needed was my driver's license.

Trust me! And if this man thinks he can get away with this he's got another thing coming...but then again, he tried to kill himself, so he probably wasn't trying to get away.