Lehman to Repurchase Loans to SunCal Projects

"By Linda Sandler

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which is liquidating to pay creditors, said it will buy back loans it made to bankrupt real estate projects undertaken with California’s SunCal Cos. from the investment firm that is holding them.

The loans have a face value of more than $1 billion, Lehman said in a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Fenway Capital LLC acquired the loans as part of an repurchase agreement that drew Lehman into a court battle with SunCal, as the defunct investment bank sought to protect its stake in SunCal projects it financed.

Lehman said it also will end a $3 billion commercial paper note program with a Fenway unit that began in September 2008, just before Lehman filed for bankruptcy.

The notes were pledged to JPMorgan Chase & Co., and will revert to Lehman as a result of a settlement of claims with JPMorgan this month.

Kimberly Macleod, a Lehman spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail asking how much the deals would cost the company.

Lehman has been trying to impose a reorganization plan on the California projects. SunCal, which has its own plan, said Lehman no longer owned the loans and so had no rights as a secured creditor. Lehman said in the filing the deal with Fenway, which require court approval, will end litigation over the SunCal repurchase agreement.

“ SunCal initiated the bankruptcy action for each of these Lehman-involved LLCs in January 2009 with the goal of obtaining new financing from another source and moving the projects forward,” SunCal spokesman Joe Aguirre said in an e-mail today.

The bankruptcy cases are In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan), and In re Palmdale Hills Property LLC, 8:08- bk-17206, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California (Santa Ana). SunCal’s lawsuit is 8:09-ap-01005, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California (Santa Ana).

--Editors: Charles Carter, Steve Farr "

Source
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-26/lehman-to-repurchase-loans-to-suncal-projects-correct-.html

Lehman Brothers still obsessed on my Statcounter with JP Morgan Whistleblower Peter Sivere, George Demos - Disciplinary Committee...

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners funds II

Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners funds II Searched
New Delhi, Delhi, India

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

Read more...

Laie, Hawaii Searches - "lehman brothers repo 105 how violate revenue recognition principle"

Read more...

Brookfield Financial Properties Searching "LBREP II Performance"

Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Brookfield Financial Properties Searching "LBREP II Performance" Guess they don't know all the scandals, lawsuits and craziness going on..

Read more...

"Peter Sivere George Demos" - Searched by Lehman Brothers - New York

"peter sivere and geroge demos"

My Guess is that Lehman Brothers meant to search "Peter Sivere George Demos" - the thing is why are they so interested in Peter Sivere - every day they are searching something about Peter Sivere.  So you have JP Morgan Issues, Proskauer Rose connected to JP Morgan.. Proskauer Rose VERY interested in my Posts on Neuberger Berman, and now Lehman Brothers every day googling about Peter Sivere... what are they all hiding.. ???

Lehman Brothers seems to have underpriced Neuberger Berman, and participated in Bankruptcy Corruption.. oh well as we know from the Summit 1031 Bankruptcy - the Iviewit Technologies Patent Theft - the Petters Bankruptcy and more.. well the Bankruptcy Courts is the Biggest business of all.. the Creditors, Shareholders get screwed... the Attorneys get Mega-Rich, the Public Get to Pay Huge Bailouts.. and the FBI and DOJ they do nothing to "over sight" the US Bankruptcy Courts and Bankruptcy Laws.. no one holds the Bankruptcy Trustee, Judge or Attorneys accountable and the Pay off For Corruption is Irresistable...

Read more...

"mark Newman" lb real estate - Corp L and M Equity Participants Googling..

Larchmont, New York, United States
Corp L&M Equity Participants
Searching "mark Newman" lb real estate

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Corruption

Googling my Sites for ... "Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Corruption" ...

Read more...

"Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates"

Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue Googling "Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates" -

Read more...

lehman bros holding bankruptcy and mcallister ranch bakersfield, ca

Googled Today. Got any Inside Tips..
Crystal@CrystalCox.com
Kerber Agency LLC - Legal and Financial Insurance Googling..
"lehman bros holding bankruptcy and mcallister ranch bakersfield, ca"

Read more...

In Lehman’s Demise, Some Shades of Enron

""Peter J. Henning follows issues related to white-collar crime for DealBook’s White Collar Watch.

The bankruptcy examiner’s report filed by Anton R. Valukas on the 2008 demise of Lehman Brothers discusses some accounting gimmicks that are eerily reminiscent of how Enron tried to prop up its balance sheet back in 2001 before it collapsed.

Both companies appear to have played right along the edge of properly accounting for transactions designed to make them appear much stronger than they turned out to be, becoming steadily more aggressive as they teetered on the brink of ruin.

Peter J. Henning, writing for DealBook’s White Collar Watch, is a commentator on white-collar crime and litigation. A former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division and then a prosecutor at the Justice Department, he is a professor at the Wayne State University Law School. He is currently working on a book, “The Prosecution and Defense of Publc Corruption: The Law & Legal Strategies,” to be published by Oxford University Press.

The examiner’s report discusses potential claims that the bankruptcy trustee can bring against Lehman’s former officers and outside advisers and does not mention potential government law enforcement action. Reading his report, however, gives strong indications that at a minimum the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to pursue civil charges for securities fraud, and that criminal charges are certainly possible against Lehman’s former top executives.

The examiner’s report gives us a new term for hiding problems on a corporate balance sheet that may become common parlance: “Repo 105.” Starting in 2001, Lehman Brothers engaged in repurchase agreements, called “repos,” which were described by DealBook as “what amounts to a short-term loan, exchanging collateral for cash up front, and then unwinding the trade as soon as overnight.” Repos are a common method for investment banks to finance their operations and are neither illegal nor questionable, at least when clearly accounted for.

Lehman Brothers went a step further by having the collateral exchange under the agreement worth 105 percent of the cash it received — hence, the “105” in the firm’s nomenclature. By doing so, that turned it into a sale for accounting purposes, so that the firm could move the assets it exchanged in the deal off of its balance sheet, at least for a short while.

As explained by DealBook, “That meant that for a few days — and by the fourth quarter of 2007 that meant end-of-quarter — Lehman could shuffle off tens of billions of dollars in assets to appear more financially healthy than it really was.” By timing Repo 105 transactions to the end of a quarter, the reports filed with the S.E.C. and reviewed by investors looked much better than what was going to be the case just a short time later. Enron did much the same thing with some of its assets, such as its notorious Nigerian barge deal.

The examiner’s report goes into great detail in describing how the Repo 105 transactions allowed Lehman Brothers to portray itself much more favorably to investors and analysts by proclaiming that it was reducing its leverage, something very important as the real estate bubble was bursting in 2007. The report determines that Lehman Brothers ramped up its use of Repo 105 deals to reduce its leverage by $38.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, by $49.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008 and $50.4 billion in the second quarter of 2008. The firm did not quite get to the end of the third quarter, filing for bankruptcy in September 2008.

And there is the root of the potential civil and criminal liability of Lehman’s executives. The report describes the use of Repo 105 transactions as a “material misrepresentation” of Lehman’s financial statements.

A second issue involves the firm’s claims that it had adequate liquidity to deal with the collapsing market in 2008. According to Mr. Valukas, that purported liquidity included assets that Lehman could not easily tap and investments that were far from liquid. Once again, the statements by corporate executives about the firm’s strength may well have been misleading.

The examiner’s report says Lehman’s three chief financial officers during 2007 and 2008 (the firm played musical chairs with its C.F.O.’s during the period) and its former chief executive, Richard S. Fuld Jr., most likely knew of the effect of the Repo 105 transactions. If the financial statements were false, then each could be prosecuted under a provision adopted in 2002 as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (18 U.S.C. § 1350), which requires the chief executive and the chief financial officer to certify that the financial statements comply with all applicable statutes and rules.

Public statements about the liquidity issue and the leverage on the balance sheet could be the basis of a securities fraud violation, along with potential charges related to properly maintaining the company’s books and records and providing false information to the S.E.C.

The examiner’s report notes that each of the senior executives denied having any detailed knowledge of the Repo 105 transactions or their effect on the financial statements. It also identifies one potentially important witness, Lehman’s former chief operating officer, as stating that he spoke with Mr. Fuld about the transactions and that he understood the accounting treatment of them.

As in any securities case, the key issue would be intent if the government pursues charges against former Lehman executives. No one will dispute that the Repo 105 transactions occurred, or that public statements about the firm’s balance sheet and liquidity were made. Much as during the Watergate investigation, the issue will be what the executives knew and when they knew it.

The examiner’s report goes into great detail regarding e-mail messages exchanged by various Lehman executives about the nature and effect of the Repo 105 transactions, with one describing them as “window dressing.” But e-mail alone does not make either a civil or criminal case. The recent prosecution in Brooklyn of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers, with a trial ending in their acquittal, showed how difficult it was for the government to prove a case based only on what the defendants wrote or received electronically. Words are rarely precise, and inferring knowledge from e-mail traffic can be difficult.

The Repo 105 transactions were not objected to by Lehman’s outside auditor, Ernst & Young, and the British law firm Linklaters provided an opinion letter under British law that they were sales and not mere financing arrangements. For a criminal prosecution especially, a defense of reliance on experts can undermine the government’s proof of intent to defraud or knowledge that statements were false or misleading.

As in the Enron prosecution, to make a securities fraud case against any Lehman executives the S.E.C. and Justice Department will need cooperating witnesses who can explain the underlying transactions and provide testimony about what was said and understood at the time. In the Enron and WorldCom prosecutions, the chief financial officers of the two companies — Andrew Fastow and Scott Sullivan, respectively — were crucial witnesses against the chief executives, Jeffrey K. Skilling and Kenneth L. Lay of Enron, and Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom.

The offices of the United States attorneys for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York have been investigating the collapse of Lehman Brothers for months, along with the S.E.C. The government has access to the same documents as those discussed in the examiner’s report. As a former United States attorney, Mr. Valukas must have been keenly aware that his conclusions about the Repo 105 transactions being materially misleading and discussions about the basis for finding the executives were knowledgeable about Lehman’s financial difficulties would serve as a type of road map for potential government enforcement proceedings in addition to private lawsuits.

Will the government take action against any Lehman Brothers executives? I think a civil action by the S.E.C. is likely because of the importance of the Repo 105 transactions and the effect of the statements about liquidity on the market. The burden of proof in the civil case is much lower, requiring a preponderance of the evidence. And the commission may well bring a case against the outside auditors in addition to individuals at Lehman Brothers.

The canary in the coal mine for whether there will be a criminal case is if we see any executives from just below the executive suite agreeing to plead guilty and cooperate. Prosecutors work from the lower levels of management and then work their way up the chain. A criminal case will need cooperating witnesses to flesh out what happened because the documents and e-mail alone will not be enough to prove intent.

Accounting fraud cases generally take at least 18 to 24 months to develop, at which point the government will decide to proceed or allow the investigation to lapse. We are almost to that point, so the next few months will be crucial to seeing whether any criminal charges emerge from the collapse of Lehman Brothers. As the TV announcer says, “Stay tuned.”

– Peter J. Henning"

Source
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/in-lehmans-demise-some-shades-of-enron/

Read more...

Lehman accounting tricks possibly illegal - Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy - Lehman Brothers Whistleblower

"" NEW YORK – A Lehman Brothers whistleblower warned his bosses that accounting gimmicks the bank used before its collapse may have been illegal, his lawyer said Friday.

Matthew Lee, a former Lehman senior vice president, was fired days after questioning the accounting tricks in a letter to his superiors, attorney Erwin Shustak said. Shustak gave a copy of the letter to The Associated Press.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. imploded in September 2008, becoming the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. The collapse sent financial markets across the globe into a free-fall and prompted a massive bailout of the U.S. banking system.

An examiner appointed by the bankruptcy court said in a 2,200-page report last week that Lehman hid its debt and perilous financial condition by using an accounting gimmick called Repo 105. The report revealed Lee's warnings to the bank, though his letter makes public the first internal assessment of the legality of Lehman's bookkeeping.

In a letter dated May 18, 2008, Lee wrote that he discovered that the bank had been underreporting its debt by about $5 billion at the end of each month.

Lee, a 14-year Lehman veteran, wrote that he felt compelled to report the "discrepancies" under the firm's code of ethics, saying he believed they "possibly constitute unethical or unlawful conduct."

"I believe the manner in which the firm is reporting these assets is potentially misleading to the public and various governmental agencies," Lee wrote. "If so, I believe the firm may be in violation of the code."

Days after sending the letter, the firm told Lee he was being terminated as part of a general layoff, Shustak said. After his firing, Shustak wrote a letter to the bank saying that Lee "believes he has been the victim of retaliation for bringing what he believed, in good faith, to have been ethical and securities law violations by Lehman."

Lee, 56, later reached a severance agreement with Lehman, however, he stopped receiving payments after the firm's collapse, Shustak said. He has filed a claim with the bankruptcy court to recover the unpaid amount.

The bankruptcy examiner's report and Lee's letter could provide a framework for any future legal action against Lehman executives.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Friday called for Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the circumstances that led to Lehman's collapse. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department would review the request.

The examiner, Anton Valukas, discovered that Lehman put together complex transactions that allowed the firm to sell "toxic," mostly mortgage-backed, securities at the end of a quarter — wiping them off its balance sheet when regulators and shareholders were examining it — and then quickly buy them back.

His report doesn't conclude whether executives violated securities laws. It does say that the executives' decision not to disclose the effects of its business judgments appears to be sufficient evidence to support the awarding of civil damages in a trial.

The executives named by the report include former CEO Richard Fuld and three chief financial officers. Fuld has denied knowing what the transactions were or the accounting for them.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said Wednesday that the agency is investigating several companies' actions in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008. Without naming Lehman or other banks, Shapiro said the bankruptcy examiner's report raised "some very interesting points" and will be helpful to the SEC probe. ""

Source
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100319/ap_on_bi_ge/us_lehman_brothers_whistleblower

Read more...

Lehman’s Hidden Leverage ‘Shenanigans’ May Haunt Fuld

"" By Joshua Gallu and David Scheer

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s Richard Fuld exuded confidence as he briefed analysts on June 16, 2008, four days after demoting his firm’s finance chief in the wake of a $2.8 billion quarterly loss.

“I am the one who ultimately signs off and I’m comfortable with our valuations at the end of our second quarter,” then- Chief Executive Officer Fuld said on the conference call. “We have always had a rigorous internal process.”

The rigor was based on a shaky foundation, according to a 2,200-page report about the firm’s demise by Anton Valukas, the examiner for the bankrupt firm. Lehman Brothers “reverse- engineered” a key measure of stability, masking the firm’s true financial condition, Valukas said. Some asset valuations were also “unreasonable,” he said.

Keen to show that it had reduced leverage, a gauge of a company’s ability to withstand losses, Chief Financial Officer Ian Lowitt said on the June 16 call that the firm had shrunk its net leverage ratio to 12 times from 15.4 in the second quarter.

It accomplished the feat by reducing net assets by $70 billion, said Lowitt, who had just replaced Erin Callan in his post. “We’re going to operate conservatively,” he said.

Unbeknownst to shareholders, the firm was hiding $50 billion in assets through off-balance-sheet transactions known as Repo 105s that temporarily removed holdings until days after the quarter closed, according to Valukas. In the first quarter, the firm had used the same strategy to hide $49 billion in assets, he said in the report.

‘Shenanigans’

Lehman Brothers actions amounted to no more than “shenanigans,” said Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Brad Hintz, a former Lehman chief financial officer. “If all you’re doing is hiding something behind the curtain, the financial strength isn’t there.”

The repos helped prop up Lehman’s credit rating, Valukas said. The off-balance dealings required more collateral than if Lehman had opted for ordinary transactions visible to shareholders, he said.

“Repos were just one of many ways to hide losses,” said Janet Tavakoli, president of Chicago-based financial consulting firm Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc. “All of the former investment banks used those techniques. All of them borrowed too much money and were overleveraged.”

Lehman Brothers bolstered capital by raising about $12 billion from investors during the first half of 2008, a time when Valukas said the New York-based firm’s financial statements were misleading.

‘Grossly Negligent’

Investors included Blackrock Inc., the largest publicly traded fund manager in the U.S., a venture run by former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, and New Jersey government retirees.

Fuld, 63, was “at least grossly negligent in causing Lehman Brothers to file misleading periodic reports,” Valukas said.

Fuld’s lawyer, Patricia Hynes, disputed the examiner’s conclusions.

“Mr. Fuld did not know what those transactions were -- he didn’t structure or negotiate them, nor was he aware of their accounting treatment,” Hynes said in a statement. She also said none of Lehman’s senior financial officers, lawyers or outside auditors raised concern about the transactions with Fuld.

Robert Cleary, a lawyer for Callan at Proskauer Rose, didn’t return a call seeking comment. Callan, 44, who left Lehman in July 2008 to join Credit Suisse Group AG, stepped down from the Swiss bank Dec. 31, spokesman Duncan King said.

Real Estate Overvalued

Lewis Liman, a lawyer for Lowitt, 46, said in an e-mail that his client did nothing wrong. Lowitt is now chief operating officer at Barclays Wealth Americas, whose parent, Barclays Plc, bought Lehman’s North American brokerage for $1.54 billion.

In its final year, Lehman overvalued real-estate holdings, including a stake in U.S. apartment developer Archstone-Smith Trust, Valukas said. Lehman and Tishman Speyer Properties LP completed a joint acquisition of Archstone for $22 billion, including debt, in October 2007.

Lehman presented “unreasonable” valuations of its Archstone stake in the first three quarters of 2008, overvaluing the holding by as much as $450 million in the second quarter, the examiner wrote.

The bankruptcy case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

--With assistance from Erik Schatzker and Christine Harper in New York. Editors: Alec McCabe, Dan Reichl.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Gallu in Washington at jgallu@bloomberg.net; David Scheer in New York at dscheer@bloomberg.net. ""

Source of Post
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-13/lehman-brothers-shenanigans-on-hidden-leverage-may-haunt-fuld.html

Lehman Brothers and Proskauer Rose Connections

Read more...

Lehman Brothers "court document"

Read more...

Peter Z. Sivere v. JP Morgan Chase - Department of Labor - OSHA - SEC - Canary Capital - Davis Polk - JPM Chase

August 2005 Archives

Inside the JP Morgan, Peter Sivere Whistleblower Case

"Civil Action to Protect Against Retaliation in Fraud Cases"

Lisa M. Wells - JPM Chase

Sarbanes - Oxley

Jamie Dimon

Davis Polk Investigations

When Loans were made and What We did about it...

JP Morgan provided a $150 Milloin Line of Credit to a Canary Entity Structured for Canary a series of short equity basket swaps that allowed Canary to hedge its long position in third party mutual funds.

Plaintiffs allege that JPM has liability as financier of some Canary Market timeing and late trading. ... Davis Polk seems to have claimed, in their investigation that JPM had no knowledge of late trading or improper timing...

Heritage Bank One ..

What are the Conflicts of Interest, Attorneys Protecting Each Other.. Isn't Davis Polk connected to Proskauer Rose Somehow??

Canary Capital Litigation

Investment Banking Exposure

TS&S / Investment Management Exposure

Click Here for Full Document

Read more...

J. Huntley Palmer Lead In House Attorney JP Morgan - Whistleblower Peter Sivere

J. Huntley Palmer was the lead in house attorney at JPM, JP Morgan when J. Huntley Palmer removed 8 people from Whistleblower Peter Sivere's team and replaced them with Davis Polk Team. Looks like he is on the short list for US Attorney in Philadelphia. Sources say his name was one of several submitted to the White House for consideration.

"" Posted on Thu, Jan. 7, 2010
Specter blamed for delay in Obama's naming U.S. att'y

By MICHAEL HINKELMAN
Philadelphia Daily News
hinkelm@phillynews.com
215-854-2656

By this date eight years ago, the then-new U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, Patrick Meehan, had been on the job almost four months, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September 2001.

Now, almost a year into President Obama's term, there is not even a nominee for the post. And the appointment of a new U.S. attorney, which is considered a plum assignment, is not believed to be imminent, sources familiar with the process say.

Some blame the ambling pace on unusual political circumstances.

Traditionally, the state's senior senator of the president's party, in this case Sen. Bob Casey, makes a recommendation to the White House. However, when longtime Republican Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties last April and became a Democrat, that complicated the selection process, sources said.

Sources said that Casey and Specter could not agree on a single candidate to recommend to Obama, who makes the formal nomination.

An initial screening process last summer produced a list of 20 names for U.S. attorney here.
With Casey and Specter unable to settle on one, several names were jointly submitted to the White House last month, sources said.

A source with knowledge of the matter declined to say how many names were submitted or to identify them.

Among those thought to be on a short list, sources said, are Cheryl A. Krause, a partner at Dechert LLP; James J. Eisenhower, a partner at Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis LLP; and J. Huntley Palmer of JP Morgan Chase & Co. All were once federal prosecutors here.
Krause, Eisenhower and Palmer declined to comment for this story.

Justice Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz would neither confirm nor deny whether the Justice Department had received any names from the White House or begun vetting any candidates.

Larry Smar, a spokesman for Casey, said, "As of right now, I don't have a sense of when a nomination will be made."

A spokeswoman for Specter declined to comment.

The U.S. attorney here - one of 93 in the country - brings criminal and civil actions on behalf of the federal government in the nine-county area of southeastern Pennsylvania.

The office has prosecuted a number of high-profile public-corruption cases in recent years, including that of former state Sen. Vince Fumo and former City Councilman Rick Mariano.
Former U.S. Attorney Meehan resigned his post in July 2008. The current U.S. attorney, Michael L. Levy, was named by the Justice Department on an interim basis last May to serve as U.S. attorney until Obama nominated a successor.

When the White House receives a senatorial recommendation, it is sent to the Justice Department for vetting.

Schwartz said the vetting process - which includes background checks and interviews by political and career officials - can typically take up to three months.
Once a finalist is determined, that person is interviewed by Attorney General Eric Holder, who makes a recommendation to Obama.

After Obama makes the formal nomination, it is sent to the Senate for confirmation.
And there's no certainty that a nominee - given the current partisan rancor in the Senate - will win timely confirmation.

Case in point: New Jersey's new U.S. attorney, Paul Fishman, was recommended to Obama last February and was nominated by the White House in May, but not confirmed by the Senate until Oct. 7.

According to the Web site Main Justice, an independent news organization that covers the Justice Department, 31 new U.S. attorneys have been confirmed by the Senate, 12 more have been nominated by Obama and another 23 names have been recommended by senators to Obama for U.S. attorney posts throughout the country.

None of those confirmed or nominated to date are holdovers from the Bush administration, although two Bush holdovers have been recommended to Oba-ma. ""

Source
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/80882337.html?cmpid=15585797

Read more...

Howard L. Shapiro - Counsel to the Inspector General. Dan Petrole - Peter Sivere Whistleblower Smackdown. Blatant Disregard.

SEC Investigators - OSHA Investigators - SEC OIG Report of Investigation - Industry Whistleblower - SEC Fraud and Failing the Public.

Howard L. Shapiro - Counsel to the Inspector General
Deputy Inspector General, Dan Petrole

Below is What Seems to Me Like a Whistleblower Smackdown, as the SEC Fails Over and Over to Protect Whistleblower, Consumers, Shareholders and Faild to Investigate Fraud. Is there No Accountability, Transparency or Rights on any Level?

***********

In a message dated 2/17/2010 7:55:05 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, shapiro.howard@oig.dol.gov writes:

Mr. Sivere:

The Deputy Inspector General, Dan Petrole, has asked me to respond to your recent e-mail to him, in which you state:

In light of the new public interest in this matter I would like for you to re-open this investigation. Please see the attached documentation from Mr. Heddell (signed by you on his behalf) and his reasoning for not re-opening this investigation.

Specifically, Mr. Heddell stated "our review of the SEC OIG Report of Investigation does not provide sufficient basis to revisit this determination."

Why didn't OSHA ever produce a final determination in this investigation? Did OSHA ever interview George Demos or speak directly with the SEC in regard to his allegations of me?

Upon review of the linked web pages (in your e-mail), it appears that the new public interest in this matter primarily relates to actions taken (or not taken) within the SEC, and does not provide a sufficient basis or justification for the DOL OIG to re-visit its previous determination regarding the opening of an investigation with respect to actions taken by OSHA employees.

Howard L. Shapiro
Counsel to the Inspector General "

************

From: PSivere@aol.com [mailto:PSivere@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 6:10 AM
To: Shapiro, Howard - OIG
Cc: Petrole, Daniel - OIG
Subject: Re: Request to OIG

Dear Mr. Shapiro,

Nothing in the attached Memorandum of Understating between the SEC and DOL, entered into July 29, 2008 contain any restrictions on the DOL.

Has Mr. Petrole made any attempt to discuss this matter with the SEC OIG as outlined in the MOU? The fact that my confidential information was leaked during an OSHA investigation and the DOL OIG has no interest in investigating why OSHA investigators did not or will not investigate the leak is troubling.

At a minimum the OSHA investigators should have contacted the SEC investigators to compare "facts." The SEC OIG was concerned enough to investigate their own, why won't the DOL OIG do the same? What is the downside for DOL to produce a similar report as the SEC OIG did?

Thank You,
Peter ""

************

Message from Dan Petrole to Howard L. Shapiro

"In a message dated 3/4/2010 3:16:53 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
Petrole.Daniel@oig.dol.gov writes:

Howard,

I assume that you are monitoring these e-mails. I also realize that Mr. Sivere agreed to a settlement regarding his issue. Just want to make sure you are comfortable that nothing comes back to bite us.

Dan"

************

"From: PSivere@aol.comTo: Petrole.Daniel@oig.dol.govCC: shapiro.howard@oig.dol.govSent: 3/11/2010 5:41:03 A.M. Eastern Standard TimeSubj: Re: Request to OIG

Mr. Petrole,

Leaving the settlement aside for a moment. Congress charges your agency with protecting the workers of this country. Specifically, it charges you to ensure that certain programs are administered and carried out without interference or political agendas.

Sadly, your comment below illustrates why the American people are fed up. You are in Washington to serve the people of this country. It's a sad state of affairs when the agency charged with protecting the workers of this country believe we are better protected when civil servants, like yourself, put politics before your actual mandate.

This is not a legal issue. This is a systematic breakdown of your agency and all you focus on is CYA. I purposely let your e-mail sit in my in box for the past week with the hopes of establishing some dialogue with you and your agency. Sadly, it did not happen.

Thank You,
Peter Sivere "

Posted here by
Investigative Blogger

Crystal@CrystalCox.com

Read more...

Mark Walsh - Brett Bossung - Mark Newman to buy the management power in LBREP I, LBREP II and LBREP III

Question for My Readers .... Has the "deal" for Mark Walsh, Brett Bossung & Mark Newman to buy the management power in LBREP I, LBREP II and LBREP III really "closed" or is this deal still on hold" ?

Email Me at
Crystal@CrystalCox.com

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Private Equity - Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners III, L.P. (“Partners III”) and Lehman Brothers Real Estate Fund III, L.P.

"" Plaintiffs Barbara J. Fried and B. Mark Fried, Altitude Partners LLC, Richard D. Maltzman as trustee for the Richard D. & Charlene Maltzman Family Trust U/A/D, 3/23/88, Jefforeed Partners, L.P. by its General Partner Jefforeed Management Company, Inc., and Zelfam, LLC, each as limited partners of two Delaware limited partnerships, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners III, L.P. (“Partners III”) and Lehman Brothers Real Estate Fund III, L.P.
(“Fund III”) (together the “Partnerships”), sue on behalf of themselves and the limited partners
named on Annex A. Said Plaintiffs allege for their First Amended Complaint (allegations identical with original) against defendants Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates III, L.P. (“General Partner”), Lehman Brothers Private Equity Advisers, LLC (“Investment Advisor”), and Real Estate Private Equity, Inc. (“REPE”), each an affiliate of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“Lehman”); and individuals Mark A. Walsh, Brett Bossung, Mark H. Newman, Michael J. Odrich, Christopher M. O’Meara, Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Joseph M. Gregory, Erin Callan, Ian Lowitt and Thomas Russo (collectively, “Insider Defendants”) and DOES 1 through 50, (all defendants, collectively, “Defendants”) upon personal knowledge as to themselves and information and belief as to the knowledge and actions of others. Plaintiffs’ information and beliefs are based on the continuing investigation of their counsel.

Many facts related to Plaintiffs’ allegations are known only to Defendants or are exclusively within their control. Substantial evidentiary support herefor will be developed after reasonable discovery.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE

1. Plaintiffs sue for over 60 Class members (Annex A) that collectively have committed to invest at least $53,750,000 as limited partners of the Partnerships, and have joined in the Agency Agreement (form attached as Annex B) to seek damages for losses incurred due to Defendants‟ misrepresentations and failures to disclose their scheme to use Plaintiffs‟ funds to acquire real estate from Lehman, during its financial crisis, at prices far above Fair Value, without adequate disclosure or informed consent.

Said misrepresentations and omissions were made in very similar Private Placement Memoranda (“PPMs”) related to sales of limited partnership interests in several Lehman real estate limited partnerships. ..""

Full Document Click Here

Got a Tip on any of This,
email Me at Crystal@CrystalCox.com

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners III, L.P.

"" EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners III, L.P. (together with its parallel funds, the “Fund” or
“LBREP III”) is a global real estate merchant banking fund being formed to continue Lehman
Brothers’ successful real estate investment activities.

The Fund is the third generation opportunistic real estate private equity fund of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“Lehman Brothers” or the “Firm”) and follows the success of Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners II, L.P. (“LBREP II”), a $2.4 billion fund formed in December 2004, and its predecessor Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners, L.P. (“LBREP I”), a $1.6 billion real estate fund formed in 2000 (together, the “LBREP Funds”). PSERS has committed previously to Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners Funds I & II.

The Fund will be managed by Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates III, L.P. The Fund is targeting total capital commitments of $4.0 billion for opportunistic real estate equity investments primarily in North America, Europe and Asia.

As
with the LBREP Funds, Lehman Brothers and its employees will make a substantial contribution
to the Fund, totaling at least the lesser of 20% of the total commitment and $800 million. This
significant investment substantially aligns the interests among Lehman Brothers and its
employees, the limited partners of the Fund and the management and employees dedicated to
the Fund.

The Fund will benefit from its position in the Real Estate Private Equity Group (“REPE”), an
integrated component of Lehman Brothers’ Global Private Equity business, headed by Michael
Odrich, and the Global Real Estate Group (the “Global Real Estate Group” or “GREG”), led by
Mark Walsh. The Fund will be Lehman Brothers’ primary vehicle for opportunistic investment in real estate and will be managed by Global Co-Heads, Brett Bossung and Mark H. Newman,each with over 18 years of industry experience. The close working relationship between REPE and GREG offers the Fund a unique opportunity to access the Firm’s deal flow globally and enjoy the benefit of the many relationships established by Lehman Brothers with real estate entrepreneurs around the world. '"

Full Document and Source
http://164.156.7.89/org/board/resolutions/2007/lehman_20071213.pdf

Read more...

MARK A. WALSH was a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers ... private equity portfolio with former Lehman colleagues Brett Bossung - Mark Newman

"" Mark was a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers, Head of the Global Real Estate Group, and a voting partner in all of Lehman's real estate private equity funds.

Mr. Walsh spent over twenty years with Lehman Brothers, where he oversaw the firm's distressed mortgage debt acquisitions, real estate equity and lending activities.

During his career at Lehman Brothers, Mr. Walsh oversaw the origination of more than $300 billion of commercial real estate debt and equity transactions (both for the firm and its private equity business).

Under his leadership, Lehman Brothers was a top ranked CMBS underwriter both globally and domestically and compiled a very successful equity investment track record. In addition to his responsibilities in Real Estate, Mr Walsh was a member of Lehman Brothers' Investment Committee, the Lehman Brothers' Management Committee and the Fixed Income Operating Committee.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Walsh was a lawyer and represented financial market transactions. Mr. Walsh is also a Founding Member of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA and holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and a J.D. from Fordham Law a School. ""

Source
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Walsh_Mark_8930637.aspx

Read more...

Mark Fried - Barbara J. Fried - Securities Exchange Act

""Barbara J. Fried, Mark Fried Altitude Partners, LLC, Richard D. Maltzman, Jefforeed Partners, L.P., Jefforeed Management Company, Inc. and Zelfam,LLC
Defendants: Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates III, L.P., Lehman Brothers Private Equity Advisers, LLC, Mark A. Walsh, Mark H. Newman, Brett Bossung, Michael J. Odrich, Christopher M. O'Meara, Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Joseph M. Gregory, Erin Callan, Ian Lowitt, Thomas Russo and Does 1 through 50

Case Number: 1:2009cv09100
Filed: October 30, 2009

Court: New York Southern District Court
Office: Foley Square Office [ Court Info ]
County: NewYork
Presiding Judge: Judge Barbara S. Jones
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox

Nature of Suit: Other Statutes - Securities/Commodities/Exchanges
Cause: 15:78m(a) Securities Exchange Act
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff ""

Source
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-nysdce/case_no-1:2009cv09100/case_id-354197/

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners 1, 2 and 3...

"" ... Mark Walsh and Brett Bossung, to keeping a watch over what is going to happen with ownership of the general partner entity in Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners I, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners II and Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners III (all Delaware limited partnerships).

.... Lehman Brothers Holdings Chief Restructuring Officer, Bryan Marsal, acquiesced in the disclosure of information, roughly 9 months ago, saying that the general partner entities were going to be sold to Mark A. Walsh, Brett Bossung and Mark Newman. I think the purchase price was in the neighborhood of $10 Million to $15 Million.

... working to help communities harmed by environmental and public safety problems created by bankrupt lenders and bankrupt developers.

... Concerning Walsh, Bossung and Newman's purchase of LBREP I, LBREP II and LBREP III's general partner entities, .....

... stories speculated, in a veiled manner, that the sale was being held up by the New Jersey Attorney General's lawsuit against Dick Fuld, Mark A. Walsh and both Bossung and Newman if I remembered correctly, i.e. some of the limited partners were withholding their consents to the supposed "bad actors" Walsh, Bossung and Newman getting back in the LBREP drivers seats.

Through bankruptcy court, securities, and state pension agency filings, we've discovered that LBREP I, LBREP II, and LBREP III's limited partners are pension funds, investment funds and iindividuals, and that they own about 98% of each company, with the respective Lehman owned and affiliated general partner owning the other roughly 2% of each of LBREP I, LBREP II and LBREP III. (We're read that the general partners are named LBREA I, LBREA II and LBREA III.)

Even though neither LBREP I, LBREP II nor LBREP III are bankrupt, nor are the entities which are their general partners bankrupt, apparently about 6 months before the Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy in September 2008, Walsh, Bossung, Newman, and a few other employees in their department at Lehman, decided to stop funding money to development projects in which LBREP II had invested, including many so called Lehman/SunCal entities' projects.

As a result, all of the Lehman/SunCal entities real estate got blistered with mechanics liens for unpaid subcontractor bills, and they all ended up in Chapter 11's...some involuntary Chapter 11's because Walsh, Bossung, Newman and Lehman's NY based bankruptcy lawyers wouldn't consent to the filing of voluntary bankruptcies.

All of the Lehman/SunCal related real estate entity bankruptcies are listed below FYI. There is very complicated litigation ongoing between SunCal and Lehman, as part of those bankruptcies as an adversary proceeding in the "In re Palmdale Hills" case, relating to the Lehman entities acting as equity owners (like LBREP II) and Lehman entities acting as mortgage lenders (like Lehman Ali and Lehman Commercial Paper, Inc.) failing to fund to pay pre-existing construction related bills. That mess is probably going to go on for several years.

The informal bankruptcy task force got involved in one of the Lehman/SunCal projects in bankruptcy, when Walsh, Bossung, Newman and pals failed to fund in excess of $15 Million to pay bills at a project called "Oak Knoll" in Oakland, CA.

The City of Oakland had issued an "abatement order" requiring the Lehman/SunCal entity controlled by LBREP II, and the bankruptcy trustee over the Oakland project to "Abate a Nuisance" in the form of a horrific fire hazard at the property....an "abatement order" which Bossung and Newman simply ignored.

... document called SunCal865 from the bankruptcy court, or do a search with the words Oakland, Oak Knoll, fire, Lehman and SunCal to see all the news stories, which were carried in the SF Chronicle, Oakland Tribune and a few national publications about the severe fire hazard. Also a local blog called www.ActionAlameda.org had good stories. The action on the fire hazard at the Oak Knoll project was happening between June 2009 and January 2010.

Bossung, Newman and pals running LBREP II were completely recalcitrant in coming up with the money to do the City-ordered fire hazard abatement work at Oak Knoll, and ultimately the Oakland City Attorney and Alameda County District Attorney apparently "convinced" Bryan Marsal (who is the CRO/CEO of bankrupt Lehman and thereby currently the boss of LBREA II's staff) and the bankruptcy trustee over the Oak Knoll project, that they were looking at jail time if they refused to come up with the money to abate the fire hazard. [Of course, we were not first hand participants in the meetings.

We got the information from the Oak Knoll bankruptcy trustee's timesheet entries.] As a result, Bryan Marsal and another partner in Alvarez & Marsal convinced another Lehman entity Marsal runs, Lehman Ali, Inc., to lend the money to the bankruptcy trustee to do the fire hazard abatement work at Oak Knoll under a first lien real estate secured loan to the trustee.

LBREP II's 90% indirect ownership interest in Oak Knoll is "out of the money" because a $150+ Million mortgage to Lehman Ali, Inc. is senior to it, and the extra $7.7 million in fire and asbestos hazard abatement work simply puts LBREP II further out of the money. However, kvetching by Walsh, Bossung & Newman on behalf of LBREP II's limited partners would not have been helpful in the process of resolving the Oak Knoll fire hazard abatement problem.

So far, all has ended well, because Bryan Marsal got the situation resolved before Walsh, Bossung & Newman bought LBREA I, LBREA II and LBREA III, i.e. before Walsh, Bossung & Newman could stick their finger in the bankruptcy case independently of Marsal, in the name of LBREP II, and try to screw things up on resolution of the fire hazard issue as a means of getting leverage on Lehman Ali, Inc.

However, our little group of "environmental/public safety bankruptcy problem solvers" are still shocked that the sale of those general partnership interests in LBREP I, LBREP II and LBREP III to Walsh, Bossung and Newman is really going to "close escrow", because of the New Jersey Attorney General's litigation.

.... Although the fire hazard abatement work is just about to physically start, at a cost of about $7.7 Million (including make-up payments to the asbestos demolition contractor), if the money provided by Lehman Ali, Inc.'s secured loan to the Oak Knoll trustee "runs short" or if other problems develop, Walsh, Bossung & Newman would end up being parties with an opportunity to gripe, on behalf of LBREP II, about further expenditures. So I guess you could say that the well-informed neighbors of the Oak Knoll project will not be thrilled to hear that Walsh, Bossung & Newman are going to get control of LBREP II's decision making free from Bryan Marsal's supervision.

..., the Lehman/SunCal bankruptcy case numbers,
all pending in the Central District of California are:

Earliest Involuntary Chapter 11 Cased Filed by Unhappy Mechanics Lien and Junior Mortgage Creditors, where Chapter 11 Trustee Now Controls Projects. All case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana branch, Hon. Erithe Smith, Bankruptcy Judge:

LBREP/L-SunCal Master I LLC - Case No. 08-bk-15588-ES (Lead Case for Motion Filing Purposes)

LBREP/L-SunCal McAllister Ranch LLC - Case No. 08-bk-15637-ES (Bakersfield project)
LBREP/L-SunCal McSweeney Farms LLC - Case No. 08-bk-15639-ES (CA Inland Empire Project)
LBREP/L-SunCal Summerwind Ranch LLC - Case No. 08-bk-15640-ES (CA Inland Empire Project)

4 total.....These 4 cases have a Chapter 11 Trustee other than Steven Speier

Voluntary Chapter 11 Cases Filed by SunCal management. All case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana branch, Hon. Erithe Smith, Bankruptcy Judge. Steven Speier is Ch. 11 trustee on involuntary cases:

Palmdale Hills Property, LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17206-ES (Lead Case for Motion Filing Purposes on All 26 Bankruptcies below)
SunCal Beaumont Heights LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17209-ES (Inland Empire Project)
SunCal Bickford Ranch LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17231-ES (Penryn, CA Project)
SunCal Communities I, LLC - 8:08-bk-17248-ES (Investment Entity)
SunCal Communities III, LLC - 8:08-bk-17249-ES (Investment Entity)
SunCal Emerald Meadows Ranch, LLC - 8:08-bk-17230-ES (Inland Empire Project)
SunCal Johannson Ranch, LLC - 8:08-bk-17225-ES (Inland Empire Project)

SunCal Summit Valley, LLC - 8:08-bk-17227-ES (Inland Empire Project)
SCC/Palmdale, LLC - 8:08-bk-17204-ES (Palmdale, CA project called Ritter Ranch)
Acton Estates, LLC - 8:08-bk-17236-ES (L.A. County project north east of Santa Clarita, CA)
Seven Brothers, LLC - 8:08-bk-17240-ES (Victorville Project)
SJD Partners, LTD - 8:08-bk-17242-ES (Investment Entity)
SJD Development Corp. - 8:08-bk-17249-ES (Investment Entity)

Kirby Estates, LLC - 8:08-bk-17246-ES (Inland Empire) ....................................................14 cases

First 4 of 9 Involuntary Cases Filed by SunCal management in Santa Ana to avoid Lehman consent problem :

SunCal Heartland LLC 08-bk-17407-ES (Riverside County Project)
LB/L-SunCal Oak Valley LLC 08-bk-17404-ES (Riverside County Project)

LB/L-SunCal Northlake LLC 08-bk-17408-ES (L.A. County Project in Castaic, north of Santa Clarita)
SunCal Marblehead LLC 08-bk-17409-ES (San Clemente, Orange County Project)................................4 cases

Second 4 of 9 Involunary Cases Filed by SunCal management on 11/14 in Santa Ana to avoid Lehman consent problem:

SunCal Century City, LLC Case 8:08-bk-17458-ES (City of Los Angeles Century City Project, Danske Bank as assignee of Lehman mortgage already OK'd to foreclose)

SunCal PSV, LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17465-ES ("Palm Springs Village" in Palm Springs Area)
SunCal Torrance Properties, LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17472-ES (Del Amo Fashion Center land, Torrance CA)

Delta Coves Venture, LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17470-ES (San Joaquin delta area near Sacramento, CA).................4 cases

More voluntary Chapter 11 cases filed on 11/19/08 in Santa Ana:

Tesoro SF, LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17523 (L.A. County Project north of Santa Clarita, CA)
SCC Communities LLC - Case 8:08-bk-17572 (San Bernardino Co., CA Project )
North Orange Del Rio Land, LLC Case 8:08-bk-17574 (City of Orange CA).......................3 cases

Last 1 of 9 involuntary Chapter 11 cases filed by SunCal management on 11/19/08 in Santa Ana:
SunCal Oak Knoll, LLC, Case 8:08-bk-17588 (Oakland, CA Project)...............................1 case,

30 Lehman/SunCal bankruptcy cases total as of 11/19/08. None filed thereafter. ""

Got a Tip on Lehman Brothers... Or anything in this Post...??
Email Me Crystal L. Cox Investigative Blogger at
Crystal@CrystalCox.com

Read more...

Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private Equity Division - Brett Bossung - Mark Walsh - Mark Newman - Walsh Group

Mark Walsh, of Lehman Brothers Executives, Lehman Property Funds, Bankruptcy Indescrestions - Corruption - Wall Street real estate dealmakers - the Walsh group - Brett Bossung and Mark Newman, co-heads of Lehman's real estate private equity division... any information, Tips -or Industry Whistleblowing Leads you got.. email them to my at Crystal@CrystalCox.com

Read more...

Wood River Fund woes run deep - News Archives

""Alarmed investors in hedge fund can't get money back; firm faces lawsuit from Lehman.
October 11, 2005: 12:03 PM EDT
by Amanda Cantrell, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors in Wood River Capital Management started running for the exits around the same time Lehman Brothers sued the hedge fund firm over a stock transaction, but the firm is having a hard time giving investors their money back, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Lehman Brothers, the hedge fund's broker, said it lost $8 million after buying shares on Wood River's behalf in a micro-cap telecommunications company, Endwave Corp (down $0.43 to $13.06, Research)., but was never paid for the shares, according to a complaint filed Oct. 3 in California Superior Court in San Francisco.

Investors began requesting their money in late September and early October, but not everyone who asked has been able to get money back, as the estimated $265 million onshore fund sunk a large chunk of capital into shares of Endwave Corp. Wood River now holds 4.3 million shares of Endwave, valued at about $60 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


Such a large, concentrated position in one stock violates the terms of Wood River's offering memorandum, which said individual long positions would typically be capped at 10 percent of the portfolio, according to a person who has seen the documents.

Scott Berman, an attorney with Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman who is representing some investors in Wood River's offshore fund, whose size wasn't immediately available, said he began hearing from investors last week.

Berman said that right after his clients subscribed to the fund, they found out the management team had resigned, that the SEC had subpoenaed the fund's administrator, and that Wood River had not issued a statement of the fund's net asset value, among other things.

"As soon as they learned of these things, they sent a cancellation of their subscription, which they were entitled to do, but which has not been honored," Berman said.

Lehman said in its complaint that it agreed to act as Wood River's agent in a stock transfer that would have moved Endwave stock from a Merrill Lynch account controlled by Wood River to another of its accounts at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

Lehman bought the shares, but Wood River did not arrange for the Endwave securities to be transferred to Wedbush, leaving Lehman holding the bag on more than $20 million of Endwave stock, the complaint alleges.

Lehman also said it believes Wood River, based in San Francisco and Ketchum, Idaho, has shut down. In its complaint, Lehman Brothers says it was unable to reach the firm's founders.

Wood River's offshore fund opened in July. The onshore fund opened in February 2003; according to a person who has seen the firm's offering documents, the firm's portfolio typically has 40 to 50 long positions.

This is the second high-profile hedge fund drama in recent months. Last month, two executives of Bayou Group turned themselves into authorities and pleaded guilty to felony fraud charges. Investors in that fund are still trying to recover the $450 million they invested.

John Whittier, Wood River's managing partner, started telling investors within the last month about the fund's large position in the stock, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Endwave's share price has plunged from $54 in July to its close Monday at $13.49.

The rapidly declining stock price caused investors to start asking for their money back; other investors became alarmed when they had difficulty reaching Whittier, according to the report.

The Wall Street Journal reported separately Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the firm. The SEC declined to comment.

Whittier did not return a call for comment, nor did his attorney. Lehman Brothers declined to comment. ""

Source
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/11/markets/wood_river/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/29/markets/bayou_investors/index.htm

So Lehman is Connected to the "Bayou Hedge Fund Scandal" - Lehman is hooked up with Proskauer Rose and Proskauer Rose negotiated teh Neuberger Berman Sale... and the conflicts and party tricks just keep adding up..

Read more...

Walsh in Line to Take Over Lehman Funds

""Mark Walsh is leading a team of Lehman Brothers executives who are close to taking over management of the bankrupt company's property funds, a move that would mark the return of one of Wall Street's biggest real estate dealmakers.

The largest limited partners in three funds with $7.2 billion of total equity signed off on transferring the management rights to the Walsh group after considering counteroffers from other fund operators, including AREA Property Partners of New York. It's unclear if the group will also be named operating partner of Lehman's two mezzanine-debt funds, which have $2.3 billion of total equity. The transfer is still subject to a vote by all of the funds' limited partners, who are expected to approve the hand off.

The Walsh team plans to relinquish the right to draw down $1.6 billion of uninvested capital from investors and focus on harvesting existing investments. It will also slash management fees. The fund's largest limited partners evidently were swayed by the team's familiarity with the assets and the fact that the group offered to manage them for less than the other bidders. Lehman declined to comment.

As head of Lehman's global real estate group, Walsh financed dozens of major property transactions during the real estate boom, supplying both equity and debt. He built a reputation as one of Wall Street's savviest and most aggressive real estate operators. But Lehman's mammoth $33 billion real estate portfolio was hammered by the downturn, contributing to the company's bankruptcy filing last September and leading to Walsh's departure.

Real estate players have been speculating about when they would see the re-emergence of Walsh, who was a 20-year Lehman veteran. The operation being formed by the Walsh team to manage the Lehman funds could eventually become an investment platform.

"This is very good for the investors because it brings Mark Walsh back to the market," said one veteran real estate player. "He has had his head down since the bankruptcy, but it is good for the market that he is back."

Joining Walsh are Brett Bossung and Mark Newman, co-heads of Lehman's real estate private equity division, who have continued to oversee the funds since the firm entered bankruptcy. The buzz is that the team also includes Kevin Dinnie and Rodolpho Amboss, both managing directors and principals in Lehman's fund shop.

But Michael McNamara announced in an e-mail to colleagues that he would resign as managing director and principal at the end of the month. He spent nine years in that position, with a focus on acquisitions. The buzz is that he decided against joining the new firm because the Lehman funds won't be making new investments. He plans to explore new opportunities.

The Walsh team would become general partners of three global property funds - the $1.6 billion Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners 1, the $2.4 billion Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners 2 and the $3.2 billion Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners 3. Lehman will retain its equity stakes in the vehicles. The first two funds are fully invested, and the third fund is about half invested.

The management group will draw down a small amount of the $1.6 billion of uninvested capital in the third fund to support existing investments. But investors will be released from most of those commitments.

The management fee will be 0.55%, well below the industry norm of 1.5%. The incentive fees are also being pared back. However, the team would be entitled to higher compensation if prescribed performance hurdles are achieved.

The fund's investments will be wound down slowly to avoid fire sales in the depressed market.""

Source
http://www.realert.com/headlines.php?hid=52897

Read more...

Eliot Bernstein of Iviewit Technologies files SEC Complaint with Mary Schapiro Against Warner Bros, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Lockheed Martin.

Eliot Bernstein, Iviewit Technologies Filed a Detailed Complaint with the SEC, with Mary Schapiro Against Warner Bros, AOL, Time Warner, Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin and More.

Mary Schapiro and the SEC have been Warned in Great Detail of Major Shareholder Fraud. If you are a Shareholder of Warner Bros, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin YOU need to be aware of the Eliot Bernstein Iviewit Complaint.

The Corporate Management of Warner Bros, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin have known about this Liability for years and they are hiding it from you. Many of your investment firms now know of this SEC Complaint to Mary Schapiro - I have seen them on my site and Clicking through to the Enormous Amount of Details and proof in the SEC Complaint itself and at the Iviewit Technologies Website on this Iviewit Technologies Stolen Patent, www.iViewit.tv.

The SEC Complaint proves without a doubt of what will Soon be Trillion Dollar Liability to the Shareholders of Warner Brothers,AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin. This will be in the Billions for Each Company, and the Shareholders of Warner Brothers, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin as well as Mary Schapiro of the SEC and the Major Law Firms involved in this Trillion Dollar Shareholder Fraud, well they will NOT be able to say they did not know, for there are well over a Thousand Documents at www.iViewit.tv that proves they have known for years.

How long will this game go on? No one can really be sure how long that Mary Schapiro of the SEC, the USPTO, the US Courts will let this continue to drag out at the expense of the shareholders of Brothers, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin. What we can see is Blatant Obvious Fraud, Obstruction of Justice and a Covering up for folks like Intel CEO Paul Otellini, Ex-General Counsel of Warner Bruce Sewell - Now the General Counsel at Apple, Jeffrey Bewkes of Warner Bros., Proskauer Rose Law Firm, Foley and Lardner Law Firm, and Many more in the SEC Complaint filed by Iviewit Technologies Eliot Bernstein.

These High Profile Law Firm and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Keeping this information from shareholders if Unethical at best, it is Fraud and the shareholders will pay for all of this with their hard earned money as the years pile on.

Click here to Read Details of this SEC Complaint.

Eliot Bernstein of Iviewit Technologies has Filed an SEC Complaint and YOU need to Know about. Click Here for the Official SEC Complaint and Great Detail and Proof of Shareholder Fraud and Shareholder Liability cause by Neglect, Fraud and Blatantly Violations of Contracts by Warner Brothers, AOL, Time Warner,Intel, SGI, Sony Corporation, Lockheed Martin and more carry Trillions in Liability that they have seemingly reported to No One.

Eliot Bernstein SEC Complaint

Read more...

Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC and Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman. Proskauer Rose and the Neuberger Berman Sale.

When my Little PR Spat First Started With Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC..

You Can Find that at the Link Below
http://www.richardchimberg.com/2010/02/lets-take-another-look-at-why-richard.html

Anyway at the Time I started researching What it is was that Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC was so upset with the Difference between "Early Next Year" and May... well it became Obvious that a few months was a Big Deal to Someone.. next thing ya know..

Lehman Brothers hit those posts, and so did Proskauer Rose LLP... I had not really found the time to track down that interesting coincidence as to Why Proskauer Rose LLP was so interested in what I was writing about Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC which led me to Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman, as Richard Chimberg used a PDF from him as his "Official Source" that I was to take as the "Official Media" or Story on the Neuberger Berman Sale.

I was still not Exactly sure WHOSE Ass Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC and Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman were trying to Protect by Running that Bluff on me to Remove a Post or change it when the Source I got it from was Right there on the post and they did not remove it.

All this became so Curious to me - Crystal L. Cox - Industry Whistleblower and Investigative Blogger That I Continued digging to see what the big deal was about... turned out that there was over a 100 Billion Dollars in Investment Funds that Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC and Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman were doing the PR For.. and Turns out they Don't Get Internet PR of the Modern Media Day and Age to well.

So still looking for answers on this I...Crystal L. Cox, Some Hillbilly in the Wilds of Montana not Knowing much about these 100 Billion Dollar Investment Funds and All... And Seeing that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Proskauer Rose LLP sure did like my post on Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC and Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman, I Decided to Google .. "Neuberger Berman" "Proskauer Rose" -

Hmmm.. it is starting to Become Clearer to Me now just Whose ASS that Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC and Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman were being Paid those Big Bucks to Protect. And just How Deep that Blogger Scat Is that Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC Stepped In.

It is Still a bit unclear who got or hid, what on this deal.. who got that interest money on a 100 Billion Dollar Plus Investment that Closed in May 2009 and NOT in "Early 2009".

I wonder who got hundreds of millions of Dollars, Where it is and what is Really going on with this story... and why in the World would Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC put Mad Dog Blogger Crystal L. Cox on the Scent of this Story by Emailing me and Demanding I remove or change a post that was a Direct Quote from a Financial News site, and the Change Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC wanted me to make did not even make sense to me.

Did Richard Chimberg of CL-Media Relations LLC even Google Me Before he Attacked?

Did Randy Whitestone of Neuberger Berman know that Richard Chimberg was Emailing me and Throwing around the Name Randall Whitestone as If I Should Know who that is????

Did Richard Chimberg GET that I was simply Researching Proskauer Rose and that this Neuberger Berman thing WAS really no big thing to me, he would have... HAD Richard Chimberg done his homework. I sure hope he Does PR for FREE or as a HOBBY as I DO...

So What We have is Mystery around Possible Bankruptcy Corruption, Possibly FTC Fraud, or SEC Fraud... we have someone getting "undo riches" .. we probably have a Corrupt Bankruptcy Trustee in here somewhere and Some Serious Mis-Appriated Funds Probably now at Proskauer Rose Caribbean Division or Invested in the London Expansion...

I Don't Know what all this Means.. However With Proskauer Rose LLP Proskauer Rose Negotiating the Neuberger Berman Sale - you know there is Dirty Deals and Corruption Somewhere - I mean if Proskauer Rose Law Firm Can STEAL a Trillion Dollar Patent through a bankruptcy court proceeding ... well then it seems to me that Proskauer Rose LLP knows their way around The Bankruptcy Courts, the Bankruptcy Laws and Knows just who to Pay off in what Places.. in order get What Proskauer Rose Wants.

Stay Tuned for LOTS more on Just what Proskauer Rose LLP's Connection is to the Neuberger Berman Sale - REALLY and how much money they made, who hid what money where and What is Really Going on with all this...

Got a Tip ???
Crystal@CrystalCox.com
Crystal Cox Blogs

Read more...

Neuberger Berman Sale - Proskauer Rose partners James Gerkis, Rima Moawad, Peter Samuels, Jeff Levitan, Mike Sirkin, Stuart Rosow and Mike Album

Proskauer Rose partners James Gerkis, Rima Moawad, Peter Samuels, Jeff Levitan, Mike Sirkin, Stuart Rosow and Mike Album represented the management group in the Neuberger Berman Sale - Stay Tuned to This Blog for Lots More on Proskauer Rose LLP's Connections and Conflicts of Interest on the Neuberger Berman Sale.

Just Who is "The Management Group" - Names and Player... ??
Coming Soon..

All Good Bankruptcy Heists need a Cooperative Judge Right?

Well here on the Neuberger Berman Sale we have Bankruptcy Judge James Peck -
Few Links On Judge James M. Peck ...

http://www.bankruptcymisconduct.com/new/index.php/people/the-bitchslapper.html

"" Remember "Justice" is just in the title of a government department which is infiltrated with revolving door crime family members. Not all of the DOJ lawyers are corrupt. But enough of them are corrupt for all sorts of corruption to prevail.

Like when a "bitch slapper" escapes even a slap on the wrist. Hey feminists: Are you full of hypocrisy? Are the BigMedia writers who cover womens issues beholden to the powers that be? We can only wonder if main stream journalists are essentially silent on obvious corruption and hypocrisy in the Judiciary and prosecutors offices in exchange for money, or for get out of jail cards of their own.

“It’s tragic, but you can count on Judge Peck and his peeps to cover things up” Yeah, any time Pecker the BitchSlapper roughed up a hooker, he was protected. Of course, the time always comes to repay the neo-mafia a favor...

And in a simply shocking "coincidence", we find this great honorable man of wisdom, intellect, and temperament wrongly and unjustly juxtaposed against tangential allegations of an excessive discount to the buyers of assets in the largest bankruptcy case ever (surpassing even WorldCom in size, and perhaps fraud) in re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., lead case number 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

It's a number of BigLaw bankruptcy lawyers who are arguing what smells like "teen fraud" about the windfall in the Barclay's Bonanza..

You really need to check out the Judge Peck Download Section. It seems some creditors figured out that the negotiators working for Lehman sold the assets at a discount so high that the non U.S. bank, Barclays PLC, got a windfall of up to $10 Billion dollars. Afterwards, a number of the "negotiators" got jobs at Barclays. Hmmm....

Judge James Peck ... said in June that it was "conceivable mistakes were made" in the Deal ""
Source
http://www.bankruptcymisconduct.com/new/index.php/people/the-bitchslapper.html
Seriously Awesome Website - Take a Good Hard Look

So who were this "Negotiators" ? Well Lead Attorney Fraternity with HUGE Connections in the NY Supreme Court and Basically so Many Connections that Above the Law" is a "Standard of Practice" - that Would be Proskauer Rose LLP.

And What Proskauer Rose Wants, Proskauer Rose Gets.

The Lehman Bankruptcy - the Judge Peck Download Page ... Click here .. Talks about Deliberate "Undisclosed $5 Billion Discount" and "Deliberate Understatement of Assets" - the Neuberger Berman Sale Reeks of Corruption and Dirty Deals. No Wonder Richard Chimberg PR Guy wanted to Shut me Up...

Neuberger Berman Sale - Corrupt DOJ, Corrupt Judges, Back End Deals, Attorney Conflicts of Interest, Bankruptcy Court Corruption, Lehman Brothers Holding ...

posted here by
Crystal L. Cox
Investigative Blogger

Check Out www.BankruptcyMisconduct.com

and www.ProskauerSucks.com

Crystal Cox Blogs

Read more...