Bank America (former Nations Bank) and Bank One....all involved in Hedge

[KoKo]

Funds.....and there's evidence that "Off Shore Accounts" have been playing the "Hedge Funds" to get max money out of all of this (from CNBC, today)

Here's article from CBS Market Watch....announcing:

Spitzer sets sights on funds
N.Y. attorney general probe includes Janus, Strong

By Luisa Beltran, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:30 PM ET Sept. 3, 2003


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Fresh from his showdown with Wall Street investment firms, New York State
Attorney Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday turned his guns on the mutual fund industry.

Spitzer announced a potentially far-reaching probe of fraud and securities
violations involving five companies, one of which - Bank of America - he said was "essentially being bought off."

Spitzer also announced a $40 million settlement with hedge fund Canary Capital Partners LLC.

On Edit: the link isn't working......you have to register....but I'll see if I can bypass it......

Canary will pay $30 million in restitution as well as a $10 million penalty and has agreed to cooperate in Spitzer's
investigation of the fund industry.

"The full extent of this complicated fraud is not yet known," Spitzer said in a statement. "But one thing is clear:
The mutual-fund industry operates on a double standard. Certain companies and individuals have been given the
opportunity to manipulate the system."

According to the complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, Bank of America's Nations Funds, Janus
Capital Corp., Strong Capital Management and Bank One Corp.'s Banc One Fund took part in wider schemes
that allegedly bilked small investors out of tens of millions of dollars.

Spitzer said there is no formal complaint currently against the mutual funds, but he added that his office is
continuing to investigate.

"There are many entities and actors involved in both sides," Spitzer said at a press conference Wednesday. "Our
conversations will continue."

The investigation

Spitzer began scrutinizing the fund industry earlier this year. He called the settlement with Canary a "first step" in
an investigation that will take some time.

From 1999 to 2003, according to settlement papers, Canary engaged in fraudulent schemes involving hedge
funds.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={B906E7A6-0A71-4B48-B06E-A3BCE514AB11}&siteid=mktw

[cosmicdot]

1. you go Eliot Spitzer

we need some corruption busting big time

[rapier]

2. notes

Spitzer blinked with the Wall St. firms. They got a slap on the wrist. It was in the end, more a political play than a anything. In his defense I'll say that there was almost zero political support for cleaning up the entrenched criminal class that is Wall St. Most people love the mob there and hope they will make stocks go up forever and make them rich.

This newest case boils down to this. Mutual fund companies giving special and illegal favors to hedge funds, which ultimately shaves Joe Sixpack. Even Joe doesn't care. What's a little haircut when the Boyz are going to enable him retire in splendor with gigantic stock profits. Hedge funds are really just large speculators, they hedge nothing. Hedge implies prudence. Hedge funds are the hottest of hot money which chases the latest new thing, whatever it is. The details of the scam are interesting but on a list of the corruption now taking place in the financial world this thing rates about number 87.

[Code_Name_D]

3. I can attest to the lure of this trap.

It was by mear luck that I was able to avoide it. I had set up a mutral fund early on, making small payments. But when my agent died in a car crash, I never resteblished contact, and I aloud the deductions to expire. I watched it grow slowly by capital gains for a nice tiny little nest egg. Not enugh to retire on, but would do nicly to go twords a down payment on a house.

I always ment to get back to sinking money into it. That is until 2001, when the dot.com crash hit. And it hit my mutual funds hard. They have taken hit after hit after hit. Now, my savings account is out performing my mutal funds.

But my old man bought into the same fund. He hasn't even LOOKED at his statment. In fact, he told me recently that he has upped his payments as he grows closer to retierment. A retierment that isn't going to be there.

The lie is this. When stocks go down, that is when you want to buy more stocks. That way when the stocks go up, your money will work harder for you. But this is only true for the short term, and dosn't facter in hedge funds, or the type of funnling that is taking place.

The mutal funds for the common man is the dumping ground that alouse the insiders to dump there bad stocks. And doing this outside the market prevents suden shocks to the price of the stock that would take place in a trading day.

And now I see them advertising mutual funds on TV. Sure money they are calling it. One add even called it "the hottest thing in a trubled market." You know they are desporate when they start advertising for suckers on TV.

Unforutanly, my dad is just too stubern to lisen to an "Amarican haiting conpiritor" such as myself, while he is a trained CPA.