FBI File: Bernie Madoff's Company
Donation protected
Short version: The FBI is demanding $355 for its file on Bernie Madoff's scam, the largest financial fraud in US history. I want to get the file and put it on my website, AltGov2 , where it will be freely available for anyone to download, repost, publish, etc.
Longer version: I'm a transparency activist and investigative archivist who files lots of Freedom of Information Act requests with federal agencies, then posts the documents to my website, AltGov2 . Sometimes those agencies demand money for the documents that already belong to us, the people.
In this case, I asked the FBI for the pre-released portions of its investigative file on Bernie Madoff's company, which perpetrated the largest financial fraud in US history: $40 billion in losses involving 51,000+ victims -- including Steven Spielberg and Kevin Bacon -- in 119 countries. [Source .] Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and is serving 150 years in prison.
(If anyone out there knows Spielberg or Bacon, ask them if they'll foot the bill for this file.)
The FBI responded that it has approximately 11,750 pages responsive to my request. It wants $355 in "duplication fees" even though the files already exist as PDFs and simply need to be copied to CDs. (Yes, the FBI is allowed to do this. Don't even get me started....)
I run my website out of my own pockets, so this fee is well beyond my means. Please donate any amount to help free these documents.
DEADLINE: The FBI needs to know by July 21, 2018, how much I'll pay. If they don't hear from me by then, my request will be closed. In order not to cut it too close, I'll contact the FBI on July 20. Therefore, this fundraiser will end at midnight EST on July 19.
AMOUNT: $355 will get the entire file, but it's allowable to pay the FBI any portion of that to get a portion of the file. It's roughly $15 per 500 pages. So if I raise $120, for example, I'll pay the FBI for 4,000 pages. Whatever amount I have at the end of July 19 is what I'll send the FBI. (In the event that I don't raise anything, I'll ask for the first 100 pages, which are free.)
FEES: I'll pay GoFundMe's processing fees out of my own pocket.
USING THE FILE: Once the FBI sends me the file (or a portion of it), I'll post it on my ad-free, unrestricted website, where it will be freely available for anyone to download, repost, publish, etc. Documents created by the federal government, including FBI files, have no copyright and are automatically in the public domain.
WHAT DID I ASK FOR?: Specifically, I asked for the file on Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Madoff's company. The FBI's file on Madoff as an individual (which almost certainly exists) cannot be released without Madoff's permission. However, the file on Madoff's company can be released. And, indeed, it has been. The 11,750 pages have been released in the past to at least one requester, but they have never been posted online and remain unavailable to the public. Let's change that.
For more info on Madoff, his company, and his scam, see:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bernard-madoff.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal
https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/us/bernard-madoff-fast-facts/index.html
http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/10/news/companies/bernard-madoff-ponzi/index.html
https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/madoff-fbi-files-reveal-how-he-fooled-employees-112032600043_1.html
http://www.madoffvictimfund.com/may-13-letter/
Longer version: I'm a transparency activist and investigative archivist who files lots of Freedom of Information Act requests with federal agencies, then posts the documents to my website, AltGov2 . Sometimes those agencies demand money for the documents that already belong to us, the people.
In this case, I asked the FBI for the pre-released portions of its investigative file on Bernie Madoff's company, which perpetrated the largest financial fraud in US history: $40 billion in losses involving 51,000+ victims -- including Steven Spielberg and Kevin Bacon -- in 119 countries. [Source .] Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and is serving 150 years in prison.
(If anyone out there knows Spielberg or Bacon, ask them if they'll foot the bill for this file.)
The FBI responded that it has approximately 11,750 pages responsive to my request. It wants $355 in "duplication fees" even though the files already exist as PDFs and simply need to be copied to CDs. (Yes, the FBI is allowed to do this. Don't even get me started....)
I run my website out of my own pockets, so this fee is well beyond my means. Please donate any amount to help free these documents.
DEADLINE: The FBI needs to know by July 21, 2018, how much I'll pay. If they don't hear from me by then, my request will be closed. In order not to cut it too close, I'll contact the FBI on July 20. Therefore, this fundraiser will end at midnight EST on July 19.
AMOUNT: $355 will get the entire file, but it's allowable to pay the FBI any portion of that to get a portion of the file. It's roughly $15 per 500 pages. So if I raise $120, for example, I'll pay the FBI for 4,000 pages. Whatever amount I have at the end of July 19 is what I'll send the FBI. (In the event that I don't raise anything, I'll ask for the first 100 pages, which are free.)
FEES: I'll pay GoFundMe's processing fees out of my own pocket.
USING THE FILE: Once the FBI sends me the file (or a portion of it), I'll post it on my ad-free, unrestricted website, where it will be freely available for anyone to download, repost, publish, etc. Documents created by the federal government, including FBI files, have no copyright and are automatically in the public domain.
WHAT DID I ASK FOR?: Specifically, I asked for the file on Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Madoff's company. The FBI's file on Madoff as an individual (which almost certainly exists) cannot be released without Madoff's permission. However, the file on Madoff's company can be released. And, indeed, it has been. The 11,750 pages have been released in the past to at least one requester, but they have never been posted online and remain unavailable to the public. Let's change that.
For more info on Madoff, his company, and his scam, see:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bernard-madoff.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal
https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/us/bernard-madoff-fast-facts/index.html
http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/10/news/companies/bernard-madoff-ponzi/index.html
https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/madoff-fbi-files-reveal-how-he-fooled-employees-112032600043_1.html
http://www.madoffvictimfund.com/may-13-letter/
Organizer
Russ Kick
Organizer
Tucson, AZ