What is the actual amount lost in the alleged Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff? How does one calculate this amount?
Bloomberg reports that Yeshiva University has concluded that its previously reported profits in a fund tied to Bernard Madoff were “‘fictitious,’ underscoring how customers of the money manager may have been misled about the investment gains they had amassed”
The school said it had a net investment of $14.5 million with Madoff as of Dec. 11, the day Madoff was arrested, although its financial statement from feeder-fund Ascot Partners valued the investment at $110 million as of Dec. 16. The school stated that “although the university has an estimated loss of approximately $110 million, it now appears that any ‘profits’ above the $14.5 million were fictitious.”
The $50 billion estimate of the amount of the alleged fraud may reflect the amount of money that clients were told they had in accounts, not the amount originally invested, Bloomberg reports.
The calculation of the amount of the fraud will be among the issues discussed by Dr. Fred Dunbar of NERA Economic Consulting in our January 14, 2008 webcast.
