Bad boy Forbes Latest News Scandal

Bad boy Forbes Latest News Scandal
“bad boy” Ross Mandell finally got nailed. A federal jury in New York convicted him of running an eight-year scheme to defraud investors of some $140 million. He used the money for such niceties as visits to strip clubs, expensive Swiss watches, private jets–you get the idea. How Mandell managed to get investors to fork over money to his Sky Capital Holdings is puzzling; he had a long record of well-publicized Wall Street shenanigans. He is awaiting sentencing.

Forbes wrote about Mandell in a 2005 magazine piece I edited, entitled “Second Act,” in which he insisted he should be allowed another chance. I asked the writer of that story, David Serchuk, who left Forbes in 2009, to reflect on Mandell’s lastest trouble. Serchuk’s well-taken point: The conditions that allowed him to serially violate securities regulations are alive and well. Here’s Dave’s essay:

Ross Mandell’s Third Act: Jail

Mandell and codefendant Adam Harrington plan an appeal but Ross will have a hard time explaining away this sentence to his brokers, caught on tape: “You have to lie, you have to paint a rosy picture. That’s your choice.”

The specific crimes proven by the government were astonishing. Like they were living out the C-movie knockoff of “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” Mandell and his team of merry men were shown to have spent $162,400 in investor money at places like Stringfellow’s strip club in London, for “adult entertainment.” If I had previously thought Mandell a guy I wouldn’t want handling Aunt Sadie’s Social Security check, it turns out he’s also a guy I wouldn’t want handling Aunt Sadie Read more