New York 2006

Chapter 236 The Madoff fraud case breaks out
Time flies and January 2009, 1 arrives unknowingly.

Last night, at the invitation of New York City Mayor Bloomberg, Luo Ji met with Jay-Z, Rihanna, Mariah Carey and others.There was a New Year's Eve performance on the Planet Fitness Center stage on Broadway in Times Square.

After the performance, there was also a party hosted by the New York City Government. Luo Ji got home very late.

It was already ten o'clock at noon, and he was catching up on his sleep, sleeping soundly.Drowsily, Luo Ji felt someone tapping his shoulder.

"Fili, wake up."

Luo Ji opened his eyes drowsily and found Sami standing beside the bed.His consciousness was not very clear yet, so he muttered: "Mom, there is no class today, let me sleep a little longer."

"Your agent Braun is calling for you."

Luo Ji's consciousness slowly woke up. The lack of sleep made him a little angry: "What's the matter? Can't we talk about it after the New Year? Help me drive him away, and I'll sleep for a while."

After Luo Ji finished speaking, he pulled up the quilt and prepared to go back to sleep.

Sami continued: "I told him that you were resting, but he was in a hurry and insisted on seeing you now."

Luo Ji opened his mouth and let out a big yawn: "Okay, let him wait for me in the study."

…………

Holding a cup of coffee prepared by Sammy, Luo Ji found Braun as soon as he entered the study.

At this time, his hair was messy, his face was haggard, and he was pacing back and forth in the study anxiously.

The first time he saw Luo Ji, he stumbled towards him, as if he was seeing a savior: "Logic, you have to save me!"

Luo Ji, who was originally not prepared to give him a good look, was shocked by his abnormal behavior.

You know, Braun has always looked like an elite in a well-dressed suit. He has never been so embarrassed as he is now.

"What's wrong? I have to save you." Luo Ji took a sip of coffee.

"Madoff's fund, like Channing's previous fund, is a Ponzi scheme!"

Pfft!

Luo Ji almost spit out his coffee and swallowed it quickly: "How do you know?"

"The news is spreading everywhere now!"

Luo Ji put down the coffee, hurriedly walked to the computer, and searched for Madoff on the Internet. The first few items on Google were all news about his fraud case.

"The fund of Madoff, the former chairman of Nasdaq, has been confirmed to be a Ponzi scheme. According to people familiar with the matter, the amount of fraud is as high as $652 billion."

"Wall Street Legend Madoff: Exposed for Fraud by His Son!"

"Ponzi scheme suspect, Madoff has been arrested by law enforcement agencies."

Luo Ji clicked on the link. In the photo, Madoff was wearing a black trench coat, with his white hair combed to the hilt.He doesn't look like a criminal at all, but like an old-fashioned gentleman.

Just beside him stood several uniformed law enforcement officers.

It can be seen from the clothes.These people belong to different units. FBI, New York City Sheriff's Office, New York City Bureau of Investigation, Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau.It seems that several departments are acting together.

Luo Ji exclaimed: "If I hadn't seen so much news, I really wouldn't believe it! That's the former chairman of Nasdaq!"

Braun's face was full of anxiety: "Stop sighing now, Logic, you have to find a way to save me."

"Didn't you just invest 100 million yuan? Anyway, Ponzi scheme is illegal income, and part of this money should be recovered. If you are short of money, I can lend you some."

Luo Ji finished speaking nonchalantly, and then laughed happily: "I wonder what Kristen's expression will be when she sees this news. Hahaha! Do you think I should give her a call?"

Braun looked solemn: "Logic..."

Looking at his expression, Luo Ji realized that things might not be that simple, so he put away his cynical attitude and said seriously: "Tell me, what's going on?"

Braun took a deep breath before slowly narrating: "As your agent, in the entertainment industry..."

It took 5 minutes for Braun to explain the cause and effect of the incident.After Luo Ji heard this, his expression became serious.

The thing is, with Luo Ji's rise, he is not the only one to benefit. As his agent, Braun's status in the American entertainment industry has also risen.

Some media even said that he had a keen eye and discovered Logic.

This is also media praise, but don't forget that Braun, as the CEO of SB Brokerage Company and SB Live Performance Company, has a lot of resources in his hands.

He now has more than a dozen stars, big and small, to his name.For example, Luo Ji, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Tracy, Kaitlyn Ross, Justin Bieber...

The scary thing is that these singers are basically new singers who have emerged in the past two years, and their success rate is surprisingly high.

The name of SB Management Company has spread, and now some second- and third-tier singers who have nothing to do with Luoji Records are coming to Braun, hoping to use him to meet outstanding music producers.

Braun can be said to be a very important figure in the American entertainment industry!
As Braun's status improved, Viacom CEO Philip Dowman felt that he was qualified to enter the elite circle of American Jews, so he recommended him to join the Madoff Foundation.

Braun immediately felt that he could do it!
Several celebrities had approached him in the past, hoping that he could lead them into Logic's private equity fund, but Luo Ji did not give Braun a place at all. With the Madoff Fund, now he did not have to think about any reason to refuse.

Braun changed his mind and directly introduced those people to the Madoff Fund.To his surprise, all of them successfully joined.

After that, things got out of hand!
One word spreads to ten, and many stars in the American entertainment industry know about it. Countless people are flocking to the Madoff Fund, a ticket to the upper class, and a fund that no one can easily enter.

Anyone introduced by Braun can easily get in.

Therefore, in the past few months, many people have come to him for help.Anyone with whom he had some connections or who was Jewish, he would act as a middleman and introduce them to the Madoff Fund.

In the past few months, about forty or fifty celebrities from the entertainment industry have joined.

After listening to his story, Luo Ji now had a sense of the scene. Several celebrities in the entertainment industry gathered together and whispered.

"Have you heard of Braun?"

"Of course I've heard of him. He's a big shot. He's very well-connected. He knows the former chairman of Nasdaq! He has tickets to the upper class."

"Braun is amazing. He can turn any ordinary person into a star!"

"Did you know? Logic's agent, Braun, has great powers and can introduce people to the Madoff Fund."

"Do you have his contact information?"

This feeling of being flattered is really good, and Luo Ji understands it very well.If the Madoff affair hadn't come to light, Braun would certainly have continued.

However, Braun's description just now is obviously avoiding the important and minimizing his responsibilities as much as possible.

Luo Ji said calmly: "If you think about it again, is there anything else you haven't said?"

"I……"

Luo Ji said coldly: "Don't worry, I'll read the news and wait until you think about it. I want to hear the truth."

Luo Ji continued to browse the news on the website, and many media outlets had begun to report on the Madoff Fund's schemes.

First, Madoff always insisted on using high rates of return as bait.According to one of Madoff's clients, over the past decade or so, Madoff's company has been able to provide an investment return of 6% to 12%, every year, regardless of good or bad times.

In order not to make investors suspicious, Madoff created an atmosphere of exclusion: he compiled a list of top investors, giving people a sense of "unattainable" mystery.

This amazing Jewish fund manager is rumored to be able to deliver consistently high returns.Moreover, in order to become his client, it is not enough just to have money, you also need to be introduced by someone.

In order to ensure a better mysterious effect, Madoff had another trick, that is, he never explained any investment strategies to investors.This allowed Madoff's clients to just pay and no one else asked.

In addition, he never releases the company's financial status.

Luo Ji sighed inwardly: This guy is really awesome. He doesn't announce his financial status and no one checks it. He is worthy of being the former chairman of Nasdaq.However, why are there so many Jews among the victims? This guy specializes in tricking his own people.

Braun gritted his teeth and said, "Logic, there are some things I didn't say just now. There are some people I contacted on my own initiative."

Luo Ji didn't look at him and just said calmly: "Okay, go on."

Braun let go completely and shook off his little thoughts: "You know, as an agent, in order to show my great powers, I will definitely show myself to some people, so I will reveal to them, I can get them into the Madoff Foundation.”

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"Madoff also hinted to me before that if I could raise a certain amount of funds, it would increase my rate of return."

Luo Ji looked away from the screen, looked at him, and said with a cold face, "So, what is your current rate of return?"

"From 7% to 15%."

"How much money did you bring in?"

Braun whispered: "About 15 million meters, which is the same as what Madoff promised you! Over [-] million meters, the annualized return rate is [-]%."

Luo Ji said sharply: "What a good thing you did!"

Braun said with a cry: "Logic, I am also a victim!"

Luo Ji ignored him and continued to ask, "Who have you recommended to join?"

“Katy Perry, Coldplay, PinK…”

Luo Ji stretched out his palm and said, "Wait, how do you know PinK?"

"I met her when SB Live held an electronic music festival in Los Angeles." Braun added: "She took the initiative to ask me. I didn't recommend it to her."

Luo Ji ignored his excuse and said, "Go on."

"And Amy Winehouse, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson..."

After hearing the long list, Luo Ji gave him a thumbs up and mocked, "Well, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known you had such a wide network of contacts."

"I……"

"Haha, there are so many Jews on your list. You are just like Madoff, specializing in tricking your own people, right?"

Braun said aggrievedly: "I didn't, they took the initiative to come here. You know, Madoff is the Jewish Buffett, and the rate of return is higher than Buffett. Everyone wants to invest in him, but there was no way before, but now there is Of course you have to hurry up.”

Braun then regretted extremely: "Who would have thought that Madoff's fund was a Ponzi scheme. I had no doubt at all. Instead, I was complacent and felt that I had a great reputation with Madoff. Now that I think about it, I was really stupid. That criminal took advantage of it and didn’t even know it!”

Luo Ji said angrily: "You brought it upon yourself! As a client, haven't you noticed that the rules for entering the Madoff Fund have changed? It used to be very difficult to enter, and the application time was very long. Now it only takes a few days for someone to introduce you. You can go in. Don’t you even think about it?”

Braun sighed and said: "He is Madoff, Logic. No Jew will doubt him. You are not a Jew and you don't know his place in our hearts."

"Okay, so now you're the one responsible for making these celebrities lose money?"

Braun whispered: "You can't say that. I'm not the only one who has been the "introducer" in the past few months, there are many people."

"Who else?"

"I heard there was Philip Dauman, New York Mets baseball team owner Fred Wilpon, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, former Philadelphia Eagles football team owner Norman Braman."

Luo Ji said, "Don't talk about this. You are dealing with celebrities. The media must have the greatest influence."

Braun hurriedly said: "This is why I came to you, Logic, you can't give up on me!"

The main responsibility for this incident must lie with Madoff, and Braun is obviously the victim.But Braun became Madoff's "accomplice" to a certain extent.

The reputation of being an "accomplice" of a fraudster is not good for an agent.

As a capitalist, Luo Ji's first thought was to abandon Braun, remove all celebrity managers from their positions, and remove him as the CEO of SB Live Performance Company and SB Brokerage Company.

This is a common PR tactic used by all companies.Fire those who have problems.This is the most trouble-free way, and the company can shirk the responsibility first.

However, looking at Braun's pleading eyes, Luo Ji's heart softened. After all, this guy had witnessed himself step by step from an unknown person to a global superstar.

We met at the end of the day.

Luo Ji tapped his fingers on the table while Braun waited anxiously.After a long time.

"Go contact Jamie, Fiona and Psaki and have them come here to come up with a PR strategy for you."

"Thank you, Logic," said Braun with great gratitude.

"You go out and do some work first. I still have to deal with various companies' affairs."

…………

In the afternoon, Luo Ji sat in the study, listening to the discussion between Braun, Fiona, lawyer Jamie, and Psaki.

Fiona said seriously: "First of all, we have to set a media tone. Braun cannot be regarded as Madoff's "accomplice." I have some mainstream media resources from Logic here, and I can ask them to help you write it. Several "victim" reports will set the tone, so that other media will most likely follow suit."

Luo Ji couldn't help but feel very happy as he watched his aunt talk freely.

He still remembered that when he first met her, she was a ignorant woman in a poor neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.In the past two years, she has been training by his side as his assistant, and now she is able to stand alone.

As long as the IQ is good, no one is a fool, they just lack the position to exercise.

Jen Psaki continued: "Braun, this case involves many big names. They have similar "introducer" experiences to you. The police will most likely not delve into it."

"Yeah." Braun nodded.

Jen Psaki continued: "I will arrange for the New York police to question you in advance, and then ask them to endorse your identity as a "victim." You must not talk nonsense, and we will discuss it next. What questions the police may raise will require Jamie’s legal cooperation.”

"Ok."

"It's all little things."

A greedy look appeared on Jamie's face: "The next important thing is to recover the illegal gains of other people in Madoff's fund. Braun, think about it, if we can contact more victims, carry out a class action lawsuit, and master Take the initiative in the case and become the client for the liquidation of the assets of these victims. Can the recovered funds be given priority to your "friends" of the victims?"

Braun said speechlessly: "My affairs are not over yet, and you are already thinking about how to take a big bite out of my affairs!"

"Hehe." Jamie said with a smile: "Just tell me if what I said makes sense?"

"Okay, okay, but it's not convenient for me to come forward on this matter. I'll give you the list and contact information, and you can contact them yourself."

"Just leave it to me!" Jamie's face was full of confidence.

Luo Ji was lost in thought as he listened to the discussion of several people. He was not thinking about how to help Braun overcome the difficulties now, but he was thinking about his experience.

If it weren't for Luo Ji, Braun wouldn't have risen so quickly, so he probably wouldn't have caught Philip Dorman's attention.Without Dauman's attention, he would not have introduced Braun to Madoff.

Then, Madoff would not have such an entertainment person who admired him, and his fund would not have so much extra money. To some extent, this money may have delayed the exposure of Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The butterfly effect!
Maybe, in the original time and space, the Madoff fraud case broke out last year!

Luo Ji came back to his senses and looked at the list of victims of Madoff's fraud on the web page.There are many stars, Spielberg, Kristen...

Hey.

Hey, Luo Ji suddenly noticed some details that the media had not reported. Why were all the victims foreign banks?

　I have something going on these days, so I won’t be a eunuch.I will make up for it, and I will try my best to do two chapters a day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)