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.
scratch my previous statement... Pricewaterhouse Coopers was the auditor for MF Global..so that's a dead end
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.
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.
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.
i would love to start a business with a bunch of professional traders bear raiding companies that are full of crap!
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?
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.
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.