Marc S. Dreier

It seems like his name's gotten lost in the Madoff dust, but not so very long ago, Stamford was home to one of the law offices of Dreier LLP headed by its sole partner, Marc S. Dreier. Mr. Dreier was said to have pioneered a new way of running a law firm - and in a way - it was true. Unfortunately, it was a way that the New York Times characterized as follows:

In carrying out his scheme, Mr. Dreier sold fake promissory notes to [] hedge funds and other investors. He created phony financial statements and accounting documents, and paid people to impersonate others to trick prospective investors into believing the notes were genuine. Mr. Dreier’s case exploded into public view in December, when he was arrested in Toronto after trying to impersonate an employee of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in an attempt to sell a fake note for millions of dollars.

The Times reports that Mr. Dreier pleaded guilty to a total of eight counts, including money laundering, conspiracy, securities and wire fraud. He was sentenced to 20 years - just a bit short of the 145 years the government had recommended.