TALLAHASSEE, Fla. / Convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff, who will spend the rest of his life in federal prison for defrauding his investors out of $50 billion, managed roughly 4,000 accounts for Floridians, some of whom are blaming Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for failing to regulate Madoff’s activities in this state.
Sink heads the Department of Financial Services, which oversees insurance fraud investigation, consumer protection, hedge funds, and registered investment advisors.
Two sources who claim they were “victimized and neglected” by Sink’s office during her term as CFO spoke to Your Politics News this week on the condition of anonymity. One, a Miami-based retiree originally from Flint, Mich., said he felt Alex Sink should take responsibility for the Madoff scandal.
“Florida is Alex Sink’s state,” he said. “That means Florida is her problem. Why wasn’t her office aware of Bernie Madoff scheme four years ago?”
Another source claims she invested money with Sarasota hedge fund manager Arthur Nadel, who earlier this year pleaded guilty in a scheme that won him the title “mini-Madoff” on national news coverage.
“It’s appalling when the leaders you elect to watch out for these crooks and cheaters are more concerned with campaigning for higher office,” she said. “Aren’t these hedge fund managers supposed to fall under Alex Sink’s responsibility?”
Democrat Alex Sink, elected to office in 2006, faces a tight race against Republican Rick Scott for Florida’s governor Nov. 2.
RealClearPolitics.com, a Chicago-based political poll tracker, projects Rick Scott with a slight lead over Alex Sink as of Sept. 28.
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