Tags : Bernie Madoff office, Madoff lawsuit, Ponzi scam Bernie Madoff
Lawsuit Alleges Madoff’s Office Was a Cocaine Laden, Sex Filled Environment
New York, NY (AHN) – A new lawsuit alleges that convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff used investor’s money to support a cocaine laden and high charged sexual work atmosphere. The 264 page lawsuit also claims the disgraced swindler upon believing federal authorities were on to him, diverted funds to his London office and began spending vast amounts.
The suit was initiated by former investors and seeks unspecified punitive damages and compensation. However, aside from the legal posturing of disgruntled investors it gives a public account of the work environment Madoff and his team flourished in while bilking clients out of billions.
The allegations say that during the mid-1970’s Madoff started sending his own employees to buy drugs for company use. He reportedly kept two people since 1975 on payroll just to run drugs. The cocaine use was so rampant and prevalent that many financial insiders and employees dubbed the firm BMIS (Bernard Madoff Investment Services) as the “North Pole.” In addition to the drug use, office parties featured topless women wearing nothing but g-strings, masseuses and sex in the office was commonplace.
Some of the more salacious quotes from the suit include the following:
– “A culture of sexual deviance existed in the office” with employees having “late night affairs in exciting places – such as their boss’ sofa – with whomever they could find.”
– “Employees described it as a wild, fast-talking, drug-using office culture.” And Madoff’s “affinity for escorts, masseuses, and attractive female employees was well known in the office culture.”
The suit was spearheaded by plaintiff Jay Wexler, a New York resident who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in Madoff’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scam.
Published reports say attorneys Joseph Cochett and Nancy Fineman filed the complaint on Tuesday in New York’s State Supreme Court. Their suit partly based on a four-hour long prison interview with Madoff in July was conducted on behalf of former investors. The suit also claims that major financial institutions, including KPMG, the Bank of New York and JP Morgan Chase, knew that Madoff was siphoning stolen funds from his New York office and transferring the money to his London office for personal purchases.
Lawyers in the complaint alleged he used this money to buy extravagant items for himself, family, and friends. Some of the items Madoff purchased during his reign of freewheeling and stealing were lavish homes, jewelry, yachts and generally providing his friends and family an exorbitant lifestyle.
The lawsuit claims there is “substantial evidence that KPMG either knew or failed to disclose or failed to detect” the massive Ponzi scheme. The suit goes on to name numerous people for being complicit or grossly negligent in their duties. One such person is KPGM London employee David Yim.
“Either Yim knew or was willfully blind to the blatant fraud occurring. Yim was in constant contact with Madoff and his phone number was in Madoff’s directory of key contact information,” the suit alleges. Others named in the suit include Madoff’s two sons, brother and various business associates.
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