Thursday, April 30, 2009

Joe Biden Agnew: 20 cents gets you a Paradigm

We blogged about Joe Biden Agnew's connection to the Stanford Financial Group as well as the Scruggs Scandal back in February (Hat Tip to Y'all Politics for the Fox News story).

The story has surfaced again in Politico.
A hedge fund with some ties to Vice President Joe Biden's family was shuttered by the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday due to allegations of fraud.

The finance blogger John Hempton was the first to note that Biden family company, Paradigm Global Advisors, which is led by Biden's brother James and his son Hunter shares an address with the closed fund, Ponta Negra. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden company -- a fund of hedge funds -- also shares a marketing company with Ponta Negra -- a marketing company that also marketed funds for alleged Ponzi schemer Alan Sanford.

Paradigm lawyer Marc LoPresti said the relationship between Ponte Negra and Paradigm was limited.

"They were subtenants," he said, adding that marketer Jeff Schneider "who did some marketing for paradigm over the last couple of years introduced us to Ponte Negra, and we had some availale office space."

"That's 100% the extent of the relationship," he said.

"There's no smoke or fire as relates to this unfortunate Ponte Negra situation. There's nothing there at all," he said.

Biden spokespeople didn't immediately respond to an email with questions about the matter.

The Bidens appear to have purchased Paradigm in 2006, and Hempton posts an eyebrow-raising affidavit in which James Biden accused the manager from whom he and his nephew bought the fund of fraud and mismanagement.

LoPresti decliend to comment on pending litigation.

Nonetheless, according to Paradigm's website, "PARADIGM's portfolios of hedge funds have not suffered a down year since the firm's inception in 1991."

There's a lot to untangle in this complicated story, and Felix Salmon, now of Reuters, is also on the case, but it seems unlikely to go away.
The online snowball on Biden's connection continues to grow.

Zero Hedge asks "Is Joe Biden Associated With A Fund of Funds Feeder Scam?"

Beats and Pieces calls the story "Joe Biden, a blogger and a Ponzi hedge fund".

And the beat continues.
Biden Son and Brother Near Epicenter of Two Ponzi Schemes

Biden in a ponzi?

Is Biden Associated with a Hedge Fund Scandal?

[The Bidens, Paradigm and Ponta] The politics of Paradigm
Again, Hat Tip to Y'all for peaking our interest again on this yesterday.

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