Are you a person who “likes to drink beer, drive fast cars, and get into more trouble than [you] should”? Do you have your eye on a Hummer, a lap dance and a six-pack but are running a little short on cash? Do you have a great idea to pitch people on a bunch of (fake) investments that include hedge funds, a fixed-income trading plan and movie distribution investment contracts but are worried that what with the lack of a prestigious university on your resume and your professional contacts only only coming from your job as a telephone solicitor for a long-distance provider, people won’t take you seriously, to say nothing of your goatee? Not to worry! Take a page from Christopher Love Blackwell’s playabook and you could be looking at at least $4 million for your beer fund.

A judge last week issued an emergency court order freezing the assets of Christopher Love Blackwell to halt what the Securities and Exchange Commission called an “ongoing offering fraud.” The fraudulent investments included hedge funds and movie distribution investment contracts, federal officials say. A fixed-income trading plan, the agency says, was the most popular offering. “It was also a fiction,” SEC investigators stated. Instead of purchasing or trading securities, the SEC says Blackwell used $720,000 of investors’ money for such things as entertainment in gentlemen’s clubs, child support, travel and a Hummer, Audi and other vehicles.

He is also accused of funneling more than $900,000 in cash to himself, relatives, friends and associates. He diverted investor funds to support his other questionable business activities, the government says. “Finally, Blackwell used more than $500,000 to make Ponzi payments — i.e., he used new investors’ funds to pay old investors,” the SEC alleges. In a taped pitch to an undercover law enforcement agent posing as an investor, Blackwell promised risk-free returns of 25 to 30 percent per month “with regularity,” the complaint says.

Blackwell falsely claimed academic degrees from prestigious universities, extensive experience as a trader and connections he acquired as an employee of Goldman Sachs and The Bank of Madrid. None of that is true, according to the agency. In reality, he had previously worked as a telephone solicitor for a long-distance provider and as seller of interests in a fraudulent oil and gas scheme, according to a federal affidavit.

Should investors get pissy, like the unnamed former Cowboys player did, when his promised returns didn’t pan out and he got suspicious that the $250,000 he wired wasn’t actually being used on a deal “involving the purchase and sale of jet fuel and an investment involving trading bank notes,” just forge a letter that saying such is not the case. Same deal if they question whether or not you really worked at Goldman Sachs– just photoshop yourself into a picture of Lloyd and his family on vacation and you’re all good. Unfortunately at this time Blackwell is unavailable to comment and provide more tips but if you can find him at his father’s house, where he’s been living, he’ll surely be happy to offer a few pointers.

SEC Accuses Man Of Illegally Raising $4 Million [Star Telegram]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Today’s funding announcements include one company that brings real people into a virtual world and another that brings them into stores:

Funium raises $1.2M for Facebook game with real-life characters: The game developer has raised angel funding to develop its first Facebook game called Family Village, which allows users to build a virtual community based on their real family tree. Based in San Francisco, the startup plans to release the game in mid-2011 to help users discover facts about extended family members.

SnapRetail brings in $6M for digital marketing system: The Pittsburgh-based software company has raised a first round of funding led by Adams Capital Management, an investment firm also based in Pittsburgh. The company helps independent retailers reach customers through social media and digital marketing, helping to bring new customers into both online and brick and mortar stores.

ProspX grabs $8M for insurance software: The Austin-based software developer has raised a second round of funding led by Adams Capital Management to streamline commercial insurance sales. Co-founded by a veteran of the commercial insurance industry, the company was started in 2005 and connects agents, brokers and carrier partners online.

DynamicOps gets $11M for cloud automation software: The Burlington, Mass.-based company has raised a second round of funding led by Sierra Ventures with participation from Next World Capital. Founded by Credit Suisse in 2008, the company helps businesses deploy IT services through its private cloud automation software.

Companies: Adams Capital Management, Credit Suisse, DynamicOps, Funium, Next World Capital, ProspX, Sierra Ventures, SnapRetail

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Bernie Madoff recently called New York reporter Steve Fishman collect, from prison. Berns had rebuffed Fishman’s previous attempts to chat but apparently had been feeling like there were a few things he wanted to get off his chest and in print, for all the haters to see. Lately, you see, the Ponzi Master is feeling a bit misunderstood. Angry. Cheated. He takes the blame for what he did (though he thinks the banks that enabled him should take a little themselves) and admits that Ruth is pretty ticked off with him of late. That’s not what’s getting his goat though. What he’s feeling miffed about these days is the fact that okay, yes, he ran a multi-billion dollar scam that had some pretty serious consequences. Fine. But what about all those years he was doing things by the book? People rightfully thought he was pretty great then but do we ever hear about that? No! All we hear is monster this and criminal that. What gives?

“Does anybody want to hear that I had a successful business and did all these wonderful things for the industry?” Bernie continued. “And got all these awards? And so did my family? I did all of this during the legitimate years. No. You don’t read any of that.”

I mean honestly. It’s incredible; funny, really, if you think about it, how running a $67 billion Ponzi scheme and ruining thousands of lives (millions if you count all Mets fans) will really make people forget about what a great guy you were. And it’s not just Bernie, tons of people have gotten a raw deal from the media- no one talks about how Mussolini made the trains run or time, or how Hitler built those wonderful autobahns, or how Ted Bundy made women feel special, even though they did. It’s like, what the hell? At one time, places like Institutional Investor thought Berns was a pretty big deal and a lot of people in the industry, if you asked them, would’ve described him as, I don’t want to say a hero, but okay, fine, a hero. Then he confesses to doing some less quote legitimate unquote stuff and, poof, none of that should matter anymore?

An Interview With Bernie Madoff [NYM]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

If you thought an MBA from Columbia was only a possibility for mid-twenty-somethings in finance with two years to spare, think again. Columbia’s new EMBA program is offered on Saturdays only, which means you don’t have to upend your life or break the momentum of a career you’ve put time and effort into to attain it. It’s the kind of degree that would get you that much closer to your dream job, or at least provide the network to ensure you find it.

It’s a program tailor made for busy New Yorkers (perhaps a redundancy) whose careers are just as important as their home life. All it takes to get to that next level is one day a week: Saturday. A day when, let’s face it, you might otherwise be shopping or going out to eat or catching up on DVR’ed television. (OK, so this is what we do on Saturdays.) Think of each Saturday (the program lasts for 24 months) as an investment in yourself, your career, or even your family.

And of course, lazy Sunday is still free for sleeping late, lingering brunches, and recharging for the coming work week.

It’s all about keeping your balance in New York. And in the city that never seems to stop working, where we commute from home to work to meetings back to home, blackberry in hand, looking up every so often to avoid getting taken down by a cab, it’s an important thing to maintain. Click here to learn more.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

The last couple months have not been the best of times for Phil Falcone. Harbinger Capital’s flagship is down, Goldman Sachs, Blackstone and some others have pulled their money, investors have been giving him shit for borrowing $113 million from one of his funds (where redemptions had been frozen) in order to pay personal taxes, he had to put up his art as collateral to borrow even more cash (for what, it’s unclear), he had to take out a mortgage, like a plebe, he’s being investigated by the SEC and don’t even get us started on the mood swings coming from Wilbur, the family’s singing and dancing pig. We’re at the point where he’s gotta take what he can get re: goods and today? Brings some outstanding news.

We of course speak of his children’s place on New York’s Power Kids list.

…with a family fortune estimated at $2.8 billion, it’s safe to say young Carolina and Liliana will be able to afford dwarves at their birthday parties for years to come. Carolina and Liliana will grow up more coddled than inbred infantas, and on their 18th birthday, Lisa told New York, they’re to open a treasure trove of designer frocks that’s presently being collected for them (cupcake-like Oscar de la Renta gowns: I’ll take two!). Born at the crossroads of obscene wealth and lippy sass, these little Lass Fauntleroys are sure to cause trouble.

Carolina and Liliana Falcone [NYM]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

The best thing about L.A. is our ability to use the resources available to us. For example, if you already run a weird dinner club known for trapeze-swinging burlesque dancers and creepy ancient Rome-style “midget shows”, and then Seth MacFarlane asks you if he can throw a Family Guy/Chri[...]

Article courtesy of %source%

Wilbur Ross: Ireland Will Overcome Problems In Two Years (CNBC)
Ireland passed a very tough budget, cutting the minimum wage, and it now has in place a bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, showing the government’s determination to solve the problem the country faces, Ross said. “Ireland has a very specific problem, we think they’ll overcome it in a couple of years,” he added.

Fed Signals Stronger Economy Won’t Slow $600 Billion Stimulus (Bloomberg)
The Federal Open Market Committee said yesterday after its final meeting of 2010 that growth is “insufficient to bring down unemployment” and inflation has “continued to trend lower.” U.S. central bankers affirmed a plan to buy $600 billion of bonds through June and renewed their pledge for an “extended period” of low interest rates.

Spain Rating Put On Review By Moody’s (Bloomberg)
Spain’s credit rating may be cut from Aa1, Moody’s Investors Service said, as the government prepares its final bond sale of the year tomorrow amid concern it may follow Greece and Ireland in seeking a bailout. Spain has to raise 170 billion euros ($226 billion) next year, while refinancing needs for its regions total 30 billion euros and for banks around 90 billion euros, Moody’s estimates. “Spain’s substantial funding requirements, not only for the sovereign but also for the regional governments and the banks, make the country susceptible to further episodes of funding stress,” Kathrin Muehlbronner, an analyst at Moody’s, said in a report today.

Senate Sets Wednesday Vote On Tax Cuts (Reuters)
While the Senate neared a rare bipartisan vote on the bill to renew all Bush-era income tax breaks and add provisions to stimulate the economy, House Democrats mulled ways to pull back on some of the measure’s tax breaks for the wealthy.

Tax Deal Shaping 2012 GOP Campaign (WSJ)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have both come out sharply against the measure, which President Barack Obama hammered out last week with Senate Republican leaders. Both cite the deal’s price tag, with Mr. Romney saying it will heap billions more onto the nation’s debt load. Supporting the package are former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, all of whom praise the deal as good for the economy and the only way to spare Americans the jolt of a sudden tax increase that otherwise would take effect on Jan. 1.

No Funeral, Just Cremation For Mark Madoff (NYP)
“He is going to be cremated at the family’s wishes,” the source said, hours after Mark’s body was released by the Medical Examiner’s Office to a Manhattan funeral home. “No services, no viewing. The family doesn’t want a viewing.”

Goldman Seeks New Top Asia Manager (FT)
GS is seeking an executive to run its day-to-day operations in Asia even as the bank struggles to find a new role in its New York headquarters for the region’s chairman, Michael Evans.

Icahn To Buy Dynegy For $665 Million (WSJ)
Dynegy Inc. said its board has agreed to be acquired by Icahn Enterprises LP for about $665 million and billions in assumed debt. Shares of the power producer climbed 2.2% to $5.57 premarket, above the $5.50-a-share offer price. The per-share bid from Icahn is 10% higher than an earlier bid by Blackstone Group LP that failed to win shareholder support amid intense opposition from investor Carl Icahn and hedge-fund operator Seneca Capital, another major holder.

Companies Assail Whistleblower Bounties (WSJ)
In a letter to the SEC, top legal officials at companies such as Delta Air Lines Inc., FedEx Corp., Gap Inc. and Pfizer Inc. told the agency that proposed rules for an enhanced whistleblower system required under the Dodd-Frank Act will undermine internal compliance programs already in place at companies. The proposed rules “disincent employees from looking for ways to improve or correct corporate behaviors, and incent them to find ways to profit from corporate wrongdoing,” according to the letter, which is set to be released Wednesday. “Fraudulent misconduct, the bane of good compliance systems, then becomes the gold mine.”

Jeffrey Gundlach: The US Can’t Handle Rising Interest Rates (PC via BI)
“I don’t think the economy can take much of a rate rise above 3.5 percent….The economy, society and government are fueled by debt.”

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

The last month or so has not been the best of times for Phil Falcone. Harbinger Capital’s flagship is down, Goldman Sachs, Blackstone and some others have pulled their money, investors have been giving him shit for borrowing $113 million from one of his funds (where redemptions had been frozen) in order to pay personal taxes, he had to put up his art as collateral to borrow even more cash (for what, it’s unclear), he’s being investigated by the SEC and Wilbur, the family’s dancing pig, has been such a god damn bitch. He told the Times none of this is any way a big deal (“The last thing I’m thinking about in the morning is whether I have a cash-flow problem,” he said) and now, he’s be forced to defend his liquidity again. This time, with regard to the mortgage he took out on his house over the summer, after buying it for $49 million in cash.

According to documents filed with the New York City Department of Finance, Mr. Falcone and his wife took out a $22.5 million mortgage on their upper-east side townhouse this summer. According to the documents, the Falcones received the 30-year adjustable-rate mortgage, at an initial interest rate of 2.357%, from Citi Mortgage on May 20, 2010. It is the only mortgage on the home, located on East 67th St. The Falcones bought 27-room mansion in 2008 for a reported $49 million in cash — making it the second most expensive home ever sold in Manhattan. The Falcones spent more than a year renovating the home, formerly owned by Penthouse Magazine founder Bob Guccione.

In a statement, a spokesman for Mr. Falcone said “This is a normal ordinary course mortgage financing on Mr. Falcone’s home that was completed seven months ago and has no relevance to Harbinger Capital Partners’ business or its investors.”

So get off his ass! Rather than suggest Phil or Harbinger Capital are having money problems we should 1) applaud him for his creativity (obviously the rationale was to borrow at 3%, invest it, make 10% and pocket the difference) and 2) preemptively THANK him for the nice things** he’s going to buy everyone with the return on the money.

**Your very own Wilburs, which do not come cheap.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Today’s funding announcements include ways to track and monitor company vehicles and social media campaigns:

Bespoke Innovations gets $1.6M more to create cool prosthetic limbs: The startup has now raised a total of approximately $3M to create what The New York Times calls “designer body parts,” according to a filing with the SEC. A collaboration between an orthopedic surgeon and an industrial designer, the San Francisco company produces and sells prosthetic limbs in custom patterns and materials including leather and metal.

FleetMatics drives away with $68M for live GPS tracking: The company has raised a round of growth equity financing from Institutional Venture Partners, Investcorp Technology Partners and others for its real-time vehicle tracking application. More than 12,500 businesses in industries like construction and trucking use FleetMatics, which has offices in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, to locate vehicles, handle customer inquiries and cut down on excess fuel costs.

Gazzang brings in $3.5M to keep company data safe: The Texas-based company has raised a first round of funding led by Austin Ventures. Its first product encrypts MySQL data to help large companies move to cloud environments while addressing data security.

Shoutlet grabs $6M to help businesses be more social: The startup has raised a second round of funding led by American Family Insurance, a client of the firm, peHUB reports. The Wisconsin-based company helps businesses including Infiniti, Schwinn and True Religion Jeans manage their presence and marketing campaigns on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Companies: American Family Insurance, Austin Ventures, Bespoke Innovations, Facebook, FleetMatics, Gazzang, Institutional Venture Partners, Investcorp Technology Partners, shoutlet, Twitter

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) this morning said CEO Ben Feder has decided to step down at year end “to pursue plans to travel in Asia with his family for an extended period.” Chairman Strauss Zelnick will add the role of CEO.
The company also said executive VP Karl Slatoff will take the [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily