The INDsider -> Leslie Turk MON, AUG 17 7:35AM by Leslie Turk

Stanford whistleblower testifying in BR today

Hundreds of Stanford victims hope to have their voices heard in Baton Rouge today as they seek answers to how, despite numerous whistleblowers and other red flags, they were swindled out of their life savings in what the SEC now says was a massive Ponzi scheme.

Investors who lost billions of dollars after the February collapse of the Stanford companies and the Caribbean-based Stanford International Bank are meeting with federal officials reviewing the case. The field hearing of the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy Auditorium, Building A, 7901 Independence Blvd.

According to The Advocate, the first person listed by U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s staff as a witness for today’s hearing is Leyla Wydler, former vice president and financial adviser for the Stanford Financial Group.

Gareth Vaughan, Vitter’s press secretary, said Friday that Wydler “came forward to financial regulators SEC and FINRA in 2003 with allegations that the Stanford International Bank certificates of deposit were a massive Ponzi scheme.” ...

Some of Stanford’s Louisiana investors contend that Wydler was the anonymous author of a September 2003 complaint that was sent to the SEC, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as the National Association of Securities Dealers, now known as FINRA.

Jean Anne Mayhall, a 57-year-old Folsom resident who lost her retirement savings to Stanford, said Wydler was fired by Stanford executives “for refusing to sell certificates of deposit (at Stanford International Bank) to her clients.”

Six years ago, the anonymous complaint alleged that Stanford was operating a Ponzi scheme “that will destroy the life savings of many, damage the reputation of all associated parties, ridicule securities and banking authorities, and shame the United States of America.

Others expected to testify include a regional director for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and a vice president of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to The Advocate. Read the story here.

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written by northsidian , August 17, 2009 - 04:25 pm

If one advisor new the cd's were bogus in 2003 why didn't all the others know. Is it because they looked the other way to get large commissions, or were they really as dumb as they say they are? I can not for the life of me understand why the investors are so afraid to confront the other financial advisors. I can't believe than so few are filing suits against the advisors that received such large commissions. Do they think that the taxpayers will bail them out? The cd's were for the chosen few and was a well kept secret until the s*** h** the fan!!! I feel sorry for the investors that were duped. But, I certainly as a taxpayer do not want my money to be given to them to cover their loss!!

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written by Phil , August 17, 2009 - 07:52 pm

Greed rules. If you remember the S&L scandal, the tech wreck, Enron, the mortgage meltdown, to name a few, it is always some greedy b-stards playing games, with their politician and bureaucrat buddies playing dumb. "we didn't know about it". The Chinese don't seem to have a problem. The head bureaucrat who allowed melamine to ship in pet food and baby formula, he's dead! I can't remember whether they shot him or hung him. Suppose they hung Bernie Madoff, or those crooks at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Put a stop to that real quick.

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written by OLDIE , August 18, 2009 - 09:26 am

The problem was total lack of interest of the previous administration and the SEC in doing anything to protect investors. The SEC even set up an 800 number that companies could use to report "too aggressive investigation by SEC," of course no similar number for investors. So, the SEC which approved these CDs as securities, is liable and so is the government. Tax payers have been hit up for literally trillions of dollars to bail out crony bankers and the few billion needed for SiPC to set right the malfeasance of the SEC in the Stanford case is by comparison pocket change. It needs to be done.

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written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , September 25, 2009 - 01:41 pm

HA-HA, Its suspect? HEE-HEE. The problem lies SUPPOSEDLY,"somewhat" with "TAX-FRAUD" by "some" investors on their dividends/interest paid to them on their monie$ invested, unreported etc , Questionable? Whether some paid their rightful taxe$. You can get F....D by white(LONG AS U BLUE COLLAR ) collars. $pecially if you WORKED for the monie$ you invested! BUT DA WHITE COLLAR$ ARE A PROTECTED SPECIE$, YA DON'T F..., WITH DA BRETHEN !
Not to worry, the HSL rip-off, we all know was an inside aided scam
by our PUBLIC SERVANT$.THE PROOF LIED W/OUR OWN LAF. POLITICO$!
( $HEEET, THEY CALLED A RECE$$ SO DEY COULD ALL GO BACK HOME AND GET SOME UN-REPAYABLE "LOAN$" RIGHT HEAH IN OUR OWN LIL TOWN )MEMEMBER ?
"POLITIC$","POLITIC$" IS as our own ( YA SMELL SMOKE ? )POLITICO'$ ARE NOW BITCHING over their unmaterialized raise$, ("SMOKESCREEN" AIYEE),raise$ were mere POCKET CHANGE, the GAIN$/MONIE$ lie with the POSITION! RIGHTO, EDDIE ? MY MAIN MAN !!!
OUR GOVANAH, FOUND HISSELF IN DA EAST WARD UP TO HIS "A$$" IN ALLIGATOR$.SO HE GATHERED DA LIL BANDIDO$ AND PACIFIED EM W/ DIS! YA KNOES WE HA$ A LONG TERM, YA SAY YA BELIEVE IN ME! "WELL,HANG UP YO STOCKING$, BOY$ "ITS CHRISTMA$". LANDROOO !!!!! CALL TIFFANY AND FREDDY, DEY KNOE$ HOW TO PARITY, I(SEE EM AT DAT RIVER RANCH, ALLU$ ) At DA ROTTEN EGG JOINT. TELL EM TO BRING DA BOYS,AND DAT FUNNIE PARROT FROM JOEY$.
WHA CAN I SAY!

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