David Becker, Top SEC Lawyer, Received Fraudulent Madoff Profits, Trustee Says

NEW YORK — The top lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit by the trustee who's trying to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The lawsuit was filed by Irving Picard against David Becker, and claims Becker's family earned more than $1.5 million in phony profits from Madoff's investments.

The story was first reported by the Daily News on its Web site Tuesday night.

Becker and his brothers were named executors of their mother's estate, which included a Madoff account. It says they liquidated the account in 2005, withdrawing $2 million.

Becker tells the New York Post he had "absolutely" no idea Madoff was running a fraud. He says the suit is about his parents' investments, which he had nothing to do with.

Becker is the SEC's general counsel, but returns to the private sector next week.

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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com

Comments

[Intelligentia]

07:51 AM on 02/25/2011

Only Obama-Holder type combination will make this country work! When you have a system where everything is designed to protect only one group-the dominant group-the Madoff-type scam becomes the standard business model. But, with Obama-Holder steering the ship, the thieves are more scared that they limit their crimes to fairly undetectable levels. If Obama/Holder were not in office, do you think anyone would have done anything about the doctors who were stealing billions from Medicare and Medicaid? This country is on steroids with fraud; and the reason is that different groups within the dominant group have divided-up different aspects of the American pie, based on ethnic and religious lines, and each group controls whatever portion of the pie they control, from the municipal level through the federal level. They protect their group members who are stealing from the people, because, at they end of the day, they all benefit. For example, the Mormons control Utah, and if you want to do anything in Utah, you must go through Mormons who control that portion of the pie. Any fraud committed in Utah is only exposed to the extent it does not affect the overall group interest. If you look at law enforcement, Irish-Americans are well-represented. This is the very reason a lot of people are nervous about the Obama Presidency-they cannot go and make a back-door deal that they would normally make when members of their group is in control.

[pjwrites]

06:53 AM on 02/24/2011

"Returns to the private sector"? Before he gets fired and with $2 million dollars. Not a bad "retirement".

Nice job, as usual, SEC. What does that stand for, anyway? Swapping Ethics for Cash?

[zrants]

01:10 AM on 02/24/2011

So, it is just a coincidence that SEC attorney Becker inherited money from the Madoff Ponzi scam and that he is going back to private practice. Was he by any chance one of the investigators who failed to find anything wrong as well? That would be some coincidence. One assumes he knows about the scam now. What did he know and when did he know it?

[EARTHMAN911]

05:45 PM on 02/23/2011

Now, come on!

How could the general counsel of the SEC possibly know Madoff was running a scam?

These people actually run Sleep Evaluation Centers.

Shhhhhhhh.... don't wake them up!

[Levittown]

05:41 PM on 02/23/2011

The lawyer for the Madoff collectors is going after everybody . I doubt if he gets anything from the Beckers.

[bmora]

05:38 PM on 02/23/2011

Never rob the rich, you will go to jail.

[ndem]

04:21 PM on 02/23/2011

greed greed greed leave america now you greedy lying jerks, and leave all your ill gotten goods behind to help pay for the mess you made!!!!!!!!

[Ds2vet]

05:58 PM on 02/23/2011

lol if they all left it would mean the collapse of the govt. Most of our politicians are in bed with them.

[WorldEdition]

04:06 PM on 02/23/2011

the other question you should ask is, why does he keep coming back to do "stints" at the SEC? Why does anyone making private money come back and forth, especially from big private law firms who do white collar defense.

I'm not claiming to know more than the lawsuit alleges, but this policy at the SEC seems to be very beneficial for law firms who might want to have a hand in the direction of the SEC.


The SEC should be as secure as possible from outside influence.

[ndem]

04:21 PM on 02/23/2011

fanned!

[dtmfman]

03:56 PM on 02/23/2011

then ANYONE involved should receive REAL jail time! No one will EVER convince me those involved at the SEC didn't know what was going on...

http://www.screwtheright.org/posters/sec.jpg

[dissanayake]

06:07 PM on 02/23/2011

agreed,,,Sometime the most obvious is Obtuse to the authorities. Irvin Picard's case against some of the Banks and private investors, that they 'should have known" Madoff was a scammer- is outragous, If anything, Picard should file claims against the SEC leadership that decided not to investigate the claims of malfeasence that the SEC received for years.
After all, that is what they are there for.

[starmom25]

03:53 PM on 02/23/2011

Surprise! Surprise! Becker will probably end up being a federal judge.

[WorldEdition]

03:38 PM on 02/23/2011

The US media including Huff are downplaying this Madoff story.

This is a TOP STORY.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/us-madoff-sec-becker-idUSTRE71M4KS20110223

[american-dolt]

03:35 PM on 02/23/2011

These People are shameless and could care less if our Country goes down.

[Joseph Joyal]

03:32 PM on 02/23/2011

And you don't think the US is corrupt? ex-President war criminal, Ex VP same looks like they had the right idea in Egypt.

[WorldEdition]

03:28 PM on 02/23/2011

This should be the TOP STORY

TOP STORY

Unreal

[ByAndForThePeople]

02:49 PM on 02/23/2011

I am just SO comforted to learn that the General Counsel for the body responsible for enforcing securities laws "had no idea" that the largest financial scam in decades was going on, or that he was benefiting from said scam. Nice work, Becker; you probably deserve a raise and an enormous bonus (which I'm sure you'll get as soon as you walk through that revolving door into the arms of your real masters).

[Joseph Joyal]

03:34 PM on 02/23/2011

brings new meening to BUY the people.