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Small-town Bernie Madoff
Old 11-26-2020, 08:05 AM   #1
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Small-town Bernie Madoff

According to the story, he "mad-off" with $2.6 million of clients' money. My favorite paragraph: "According to his plea agreement, Matthes admitted he stole because he was under pressure to keep up the appearance of being a successful business owner even though he was living beyond his means."

Oh yeah, and there's this: "Matthes was the president of the Downtown Oconomowoc Business Association until he resigned in March 2019 during the investigation into complaints about his work."

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/...ft/6425411002/
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:09 AM   #2
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We had one of those in our small town about 30 years ago.... a well-known lawyer who convinced people that he had the inside scoop on various investment opportunities and ended up doing a ponzi scheme. I'm not sure if he is out of jail yet or not... I suspect that he is.
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:12 AM   #3
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I like to watch the American Greed tv show - can't believe how many ponzi schemes are run and they keep getting people to buy in.
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:15 AM   #4
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Matthes admitted he stole because he was under pressure to keep up the appearance of being a successful business owner even though he was living beyond his means."
Yabbut...did he pay off his student loans?
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:22 AM   #5
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We had one of those in our small town about 30 years ago.... a well-known lawyer who convinced people that he had the inside scoop on various investment opportunities and ended up doing a ponzi scheme. I'm not sure if he is out of jail yet or not... I suspect that he is.
If he does time, I doubt that it'll be much. He needs to repay the people he cheated, and making license plates doesn't pay much. Used-car salesman, maybe?
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:25 AM   #6
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Yep, I've run across (or knew of) a few of these guys in my lifetime... They aren't rare. That's pretty much why I don't trust any FA's, consultants, etc and manage my own.
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:27 AM   #7
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Yabbut...did he pay off his student loans?
According to the story, he got his son out from under.

I wish the story would have some input from the victims. They're described in documents as "elderly," but they apparently were sharp enough to catch on that they were getting scammed.
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:53 AM   #8
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If he does time, I doubt that it'll be much. He needs to repay the people he cheated, and making license plates doesn't pay much. Used-car salesman, maybe?
And a 13 year debarment. Why not lifetime?

Up to 20 years. I'd bet it will be less than 5.
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Old 11-26-2020, 08:54 AM   #9
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A local insurance agent in a small town nearby was just charged with taking over $500k from his clients He used it to fund his lifestyle.
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Old 11-26-2020, 09:06 AM   #10
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Financial advisor type guy killed his "best friend" and tried to make it look like a suicide in order to get MORE of his money. He specialized in defrauding older people. SPecial place in hell... https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2020...de-police-say/
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Old 11-26-2020, 09:47 AM   #11
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How does a company like Mutual of Omaha not have systems in place to prevent an Independent broker using their shield from perpetrating a scam like this?
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Old 11-26-2020, 09:54 AM   #12
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I wish the story would have some input from the victims. They're described in documents as "elderly," but they apparently were sharp enough to catch on that they were getting scammed.
Good point. Now that I am getting a bit older (72 presently), I have noticed that often people assume those over 70 are blithering idiots and totally incapable of doing things like keeping track of their spending or detecting a scammer.
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Old 11-26-2020, 10:10 AM   #13
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Good point. Now that I am getting a bit older (72 presently), I have noticed that often people assume those over 70 are blithering idiots and totally incapable of doing things like keeping track of their spending or detecting a scammer.
That's right! I've been a blithering idiot all my life, and at 78 I'm not about to change now!
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Old 11-26-2020, 10:38 AM   #14
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I'd submit theres more than one small-town-mad-off in every small town none of us ever hear of, hearing of so many nation wide.

My understanding of most data points is there are 2 additional data points for every confirmed one you hear about.
Thats quite a few scammers, take care and overlook no one. Not even ones spouse in some circumstance.
The spouse on spouse cases of financial mis-managment are the worst. imo.
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Old 11-26-2020, 11:07 AM   #15
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Financial advisor type guy killed his "best friend" and tried to make it look like a suicide in order to get MORE of his money. He specialized in defrauding older people. SPecial place in hell... https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2020...de-police-say/
Wow, the guy has a lot of irons in the fire. Another news source describes him as a microbrewery owner. He was also a nurse at a hospital, where he apparently obtained the anesthetic he used to drug his victim before killing him. In addition to his financial advisor work of course.

Have any Texans on the forum sampled his brews from the Nine Band Brewing Co.?
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Old 11-26-2020, 11:11 AM   #16
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We had a guy like that at our church. Big Talk, good friends in all the HIGH places, big house, two fancy cars, volunteered for all sorts of church activities, etc. etc. etc. He hooked a number of people on a great business opportunity refinishing bathrooms in only a day or two using new techniques, IIRC. Three years later he disappeared, with a number of church members wondering where their money had gone to.
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Old 11-26-2020, 01:29 PM   #17
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If he does time, I doubt that it'll be much. He needs to repay the people he cheated, and making license plates doesn't pay much. Used-car salesman, maybe?
He bilked about 90 people in a town of about 12,000 out of close to $8 million over 5 years but one of the investors lawyers thinks it was more like $15 million He was found guilty and sentenced to 188 months in federal prison. Look like he did 10 years in prison and the rest supervised release.
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Old 11-26-2020, 01:35 PM   #18
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I like to watch the American Greed tv show - can't believe how many ponzi schemes are run and they keep getting people to buy in.
Me too. I hope the lessons learned stick as I grow older and feebler.

One aspect is not being satisfied with average or even slightly below average market returns. The times I have been solicited by financial advisors, they all pushed "you need better than average returns" and how the could help reach that.
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Old 11-26-2020, 04:59 PM   #19
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If he does time, I doubt that it'll be much. He needs to repay the people he cheated, and making license plates doesn't pay much. Used-car salesman, maybe?
When these ponzi scheme folks are caught, largely any returned money comes from what they didn't spend/waste. Perhaps some from investors that thought they were getting a good rate, but got out early.

Having him work (who wants to hire a criminal like him) will be at minimum wage, so maybe he could repay $100 / month towards the Millions of dollars owed
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Old 11-26-2020, 05:01 PM   #20
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Having him work (who wants to hire a criminal like him) will be at minimum wage, so maybe he could repay $100 / month towards the Millions of dollars owed
I guess involuntary organ donation is off the table?
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