Discussion:Ponzi - Not your Happy Days variety
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Revision as of 14:12, 12 February 2009
Discussion Forum Index --> Advanced Tax Questions --> Ponzi - Not your Happy Days variety
Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> Ponzi - Not your Happy Days variety
| 12 February 2009 | |
| Okay, the funny thing is, that a long time ago my husband (who is an investment banker) was rattling on and on about Ponzi schemes and I asked him, in all seriousness, if this had something to do with that guy on Happy Days. I was confusing Fonzi and Potsy. So, as a preclude to what I am about to ask, please excuse my ignorance...
A client, going through great financial troubles (reaaaallly?) sends me an email that says, in addition to filing bankruptcy, she had just found out that a chunk on her IRA was invested with Bernie Madoff. She is wondering about the "theft loss" she will take on this money. Okay, so in my tax brain, I think, wouldn't this be more of a Schedule A deduction to the extent of her contributions and that any earnings would be null and void? And then, would she only be able to take this loss if she closed the whole IRA - the money was only invested partially with Bernie...and THEN, she sends me this: Sovereign International Asset Management, Inc. is committed to bringing you updates regarding the situation with Anchor Class A Hedge Fund. From conversations with several clients and research that we continue to do, it has come to our attention that there may be recovery possibilities from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SPIC). The SPIC has recently encouraged some of our clients to file claims. The links to these important websites are: http://www.madofftrustee.com/index.html We have also attached your latest statement showing the Anchor Class A investment. This statement shows the last known Net Asset Value (NAV) that was finalized. In the letter from the fund management company that you received, it states that all future NAV calculations have been suspended. We will continue to keep you updated by email and hard copy currently. We are in the process of changing our webhost provider for our website and are dealing with some access issues. We are working closely with the provider to get this corrected. Once this is corrected, updates will be posted on the website. IF she is able to recover any money, all bets would be off, I would think. I am pretty sure in any respect, that she would not have a "theft loss" and if she did, then unfortunately this probably isn't more than 10% of her income - could be wrong, but pretty sure. Thank you for your thoughts! Sometimes wish everyone was EZ...woodstock | |
