Bernie Madoff: Shana Madoff Swanson, Madoff's Vain & Narcissistic Compliance Officer
Read this 8/23/04 New York magazine article, "Extreme Brand Loyalty", about Shana Madoff Swanson and then try to argue Shana Madoff had the moral backbone to turn her father and uncle in to the SEC if she knew they were committing fraud.
No way in hell was Shana Madoff Skoller Swanson ever going to voluntarily give up her fabulous lifestyle for the sake of integrity.
Ask Shana Madoff, the compliance officer, whether she knew the SEC report filed by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC at the end of 2006 was false. That was the report in which Madoff claimed it had $17 billion in investments under control on behalf of 20 or so clients. Shana Madoff would have known that was a lie because a lot more than 20 people have told her over the years how happy they were with their Madoff investments.
Name dropping and wearing the right designer clothes are what matters to Shana Madoff. She picked Narcisco Rodriguez (great name, btw) as "her" designer because she saw Carolyn Bessette Kennedy wearing his stuff.
Catch the bit about being on a Georgica beach when she noticed a must-have Prada handbag in Harper's Bazaar? I wonder if she or the Madoff family own property in East Hampton. I bet Martha Stewart, who has a house on Georgica Pond, has the dirt on the Madoffs or she can get it. If the Madoffs screwed around with Martha's stock price, they are in big trouble now.
Me, I'd track down Joan Hamburg, the First Lady of WOR Radio, if I was investigating the Madoffs. I listen to Joan whenever I'm not working and I am telling you she knows everything about everyone in NYC and she has a house in the Hamptons.
I don't know what the deal is with Shana Madoff's second husband, Eric Swanson. Maybe he really is a honest guy who fell for a glamorous lifestyle in NYC. I'm curious about whether his father-in-law put up any money in the BATS deal. No one has said much about BATS recently. Then again, no one has said much about Primex and NASDAQ Europe, twojoint ventures between the Madoffs, Goldman Sachs and other brokerage firms.
It looks like Scott Koller, Shana Madoff's first husband, when into business in Boca Raton in 12/07 but the business, "Bodyssey Inc." now appears to be defunct. The company was registered by a Trina Skoller. Maybe Scott Koller remarried.
I wonder if Shana Madoff's designer clothes get auctioned off if she is found guilty of colluding with her uncle and father to commit securities fraud.
Oops! Trini Skoller is Scott Skoller's mother.
January 7, 2009 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Your outrage is well-placed, and reading your posts is like hearing out a well-connected New Yorker vent righteously. Keep on it, because your coverage of this astounding scandal accounts for some of the best journalism at this site. One of the most dismaying aspects of the whole sordid mess is how the tainted wealth of these characters attracted such good MSM press - for so long. The Shana subplot is pure "Kimora robs the bank at Monte Carlo". Life in the Fat Lane, indeed.
January 7, 2009 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you benefited from the crime, you lose that benefit. I do not care what you claim you knew or did not know.
If, in addition to this, you are found to have been in a position of power within the corporation that committed the felony, you are responsible. You must be charged. The burden of proof is now on you to prove otherwise.
Confiscate all her property today and charge her tomorrow.
January 7, 2009 7:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have heard it is difficult to extract money given to innocent parties, especially if a certain amount of time has passed, usually 3-5 years, depending on the state. There were precedents made when mob figures gave money to the Catholic Church. Courts held the money was not directly traceable. Regarding whether officers in Madoff's organization could be held criminally liable, I think the general rule is that most crimes must be done with intention.
January 7, 2009 8:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nope. Gross negligence. Knew or should have known,
reckless indifference...Many, many different standards with regard to criminal liability for crimes. and I love that 3-5 year bullshit.
The mantra of every single rich Republican.
I stole it fair and square and now it is mine.
January 7, 2009 10:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for interesting info and angle. I look forward to what else you find out. "Mainstream" reporting on this is more than lame.
January 7, 2009 7:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the compliments. The media coverage of the Madoff scandal has been disgraceful and seems more oriented toward containing the damage than exposing the fraud.
I wish someone would interview Scott I. Skoller, Shana Madoff's first husband, to get an idea about how the Madoffs operate.
When Skoller married Shana Madoff in 12/97, he was the manager of an upscale men's store, Tyrone,in Roslyn.
Tryone is owned by Norman and Richard Buksbaum who only moved the store from Cedarhurst to Roslyn in 1997, according to an excerpt of an article in the Daily News Record, available through High Beam.
Did the Madoffs have anything to do with the Buksbaums' decision to move to Roslyn and hire Scott Skoller?
Scott Skoller is now a managing director at David Lance New York, a very upscale men's wear store.
I have no doubt Scott Skoller is very good at what he does. Plus I can see the attraction for Shana Madoff.
I wonder if all of the Madoff men shop at David Lance and whether the Madoffs have a giant credit at the store as in a $5 million cash advance so they are sure to look nice in court.
I wonder, too, if Scott Skoller will sell his story to Insider! once he realizes any money the Madoffs pay him now to keep quiet will likely be confiscated by the court.
If anyone is in the vicinity of E 76th (bet Park and Madison), stop by and buy a pair of socks from Scott and let us know if he is really that good-looking in person.
January 8, 2009 8:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Was it just another one of life's funny coincidences that Shana Madoff became romantically hooked up with someone at the SEC who was in a position to help cover up her family's massive fraud?
I have no problem believing Shana Madoff deliberately cultivated a relationship with Swanson to protect her family's multi-billion dollar enterprise.
For that matter, I have no problem believing someone at the SEC can be bought. I forget where I read it but someone recently describing the clubby lunches at Charlie Palmer's, the DC steakhouse, mentioned the big SEC execs heehawing with the very people they were supposed to watch over.
The folks at BATS apparently thought Eric Swanson had a lot of pull at the SEC when they hired him last January.
1/18/08 Reuters story about BATs hiring Eric Swanson to be general counsel:
Eric Swanson, Former SEC Lawyer, Will Be Based in NYC
KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(Business Wire)--BATS Trading Inc. hired Eric Swanson as general counsel and said that his primary initial responsibilities will be working with the Securities and Exchange Commission as BATS seeks SEC approval of its
exchange application.
Mr. Swanson has a significant history with the SEC, having served at the Commission from 1996-2006 and rising to the title of Assistant Director in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations' market oversight unit in Washington. His duties included supervising the Commission's inspection program responsible for regulatory oversight of trading on the securities exchanges and ECNs.
"We're excited to add Eric to our growing team and look forward to his contributions as we move towards Exchange status," said Chief Executive Joe Ratterman, noting that Mr. Swanson will report directly to him. "With his strong background and knowledge of the SEC and market centers, Eric is the ideal individual to work with the Commission during this process."
During his tenure at the SEC, Mr. Swanson supervised and conducted inspections and examinations that involved a wide range of issues including best execution, order handling, insider trading, market manipulation, and compliance with Regulation ATS. In addition, Mr. Swanson was responsible for the identification of regulatory risks and the development of parameters for surveillance and examination programs.
A frequent speaker at securities industry functions,Mr. Swanson was most recently chief counsel and vice president of regulatory strategy at Ameriprise Financial. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and earned his law degree at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minn.
About BATS Trading
BATS Trading, based in Kansas City, Mo., with additional offices in New York, was launched in January 2006 and operates one of the fastest-growing, top-tier equity markets in the United States. The BATS platform is developed by a core team of market and technology professionals, catering to the needs of the broker-dealer community.
Included in the BATS customer base are more than 240 broker-dealers and a broad-based ownership group of Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, GETCO, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Lime Brokerage, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Wedbush. BATS recently recorded record volume of 883 million shares in a single day.
BATS...Making Markets Better.
For more information, contact Randy Williams or visit www.batstrading.com.
BATS Trading
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Copyright Business Wire 2008
I'm going to post more about Eric Swanson, Shana Madoff's second husband, when I have time.
January 8, 2009 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink