Federal prosecutors claim that Bernard Madoff had 100 checks in his desk—about $173 million worth, made out to friends, family, and employees— and that he would have sent them out, if not for the FBI arresting him. Madoff, who admitted that his investment empire was actually a Ponzi scheme of up to $50 billion, has been under house arrest (he put up $10 million in bail), but the U.S. Attorney's office wants him in jail, noting the many checks plus the packages of expensive jewelry he mailed to relatives are signs he's trying to hide assets. more ›

It's hard to swallow Bernard Madoff's lawyer claim that his scamming client "innocently" mailed gift packages to relatives, given that one of the packages alone had $1 million worth of jewelry in it. Also, since when do you mail $1 million worth of goods? Isn't that something you do face-to-face? Anyway, according to Bloomberg News, that package had "13 watches, a diamond necklace, an emerald ring, and two sets of cufflinks" while another two had "a diamond bracelet, a gold watch, a diamond Cartier watch, a diamond Tiffany watch, four diamond brooches, a jade necklace, and other assorted jewelry." The U.S. Attorney's office is trying to argue that Madoff is dispersing his assets, therefore violating his bail (and further making him seems like a flight risk), and wants him in jail pronto. Madoff's lawyer says the disgraced investor and his wife are trying to retrieve the items, which might be hard since the feds are in possession of some. In other Madoff news, he borrowed $250 million from a friend right before his arrest. more ›