Winners and Losers 2008

Here is a list of winners and losers for 2008.

As befits a year in which the economy collapsed and wars dragged on, the list of losers is longer than the list of winners.

Feel free to add or subtract names and to add commentary.

The year isn’t over, so the list may change.

Winners

Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
Hillary Clinton
Rachel Maddow
Pixar
Bankruptcy lawyers
Facebook
Robert Gates
Jonas Brothers
Bill Ayers
Heather Mills
Sarah Palin
Rick Warren
Democrats
Beyoncé
Harrison Ford
Joe Biden
Robert Downey, Jr.
The Taliban
Mexican drug cartels
Prisons
AIG
Lawrence Summers
David Axelrod
Rahm Emanuel
Paul Volker
Vladimir Putin
Tom Daschle
John Podesta
Britney Spears
Keith Olbermann
C.C. Sabbathia
Philadelphia Phillies
Brett Farve
will.i.am
Eli Manning
Bank of America
Christopher Buckley
Walmart
Mark Begich
Muntadhar al-Zaidi
Somali pirates
Guy Ritchie
Emo vampires
Carla Bruni
Google
Tom Udall
Mark Udall
John Kerry
Al Gore
Kay Hagan
Mickey Rourke
Mike Huckabee
Jeff Merkley
Michael Phelps
Jason Lezak
Heath Ledger
Rafael Nadal
Repo Men
Global warming
Handguns

Losers

OJ Simpson
Bernard L. Madoff
Anthony Pellicano
George W. Bush
John McCain
Republicans
Alan Greenspan
Realtors
Iraq
Paul McCartney
Newspapers
Local television
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
William J. Jefferson
Circuit City
Lehman Brothers
Detroit
John Edwards
Myspace
Steve Schmidt
Chinese milk
Star Wars
Yahoo
Wachovia Corp.
Washington Mutual
Karl Rove
Sam Zell
Richard H. Davis
U.S. Automakers
The South
Mortgage brokers
Ben Bernanke
Henry Paulson
Same Sex Marriage
Merrill Lynch
Book publishers
Airlines
Homeland Security
Rush Limbaugh
The Fed
Britney Spears
Rod Blagojevich
Scooter Libby
Bill Clinton
Jeremiah Wright
Mitt Romney
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Las Vegas
California
Arnold Schwartzeneggar
Eliot Spitzer
Gordon Smith
Raffaello Follieri
Workers
Ted Stevens
Washington Mutual
Yeshiva University
Africa
India
Bill O’Reilly
New York Mets
Plaxico Burress
Broadway
Phil Gramm
Museum of Modern Art (MOCA) Los Angeles
Mikheil Saakashvili
Christopher Cox
Joe Lieberman
Jewish charities
Public schools
Community colleges
John E. Sununu
Elizabeth Dole
Miley Cyrus
Countrywide
Angelo Mozilo
Max Mosley
Kwame Kilpatrick
Heath Ledger
Roger Clemens
Baytown, Texas
Galveston Island, Texas
Missouri
The Bill of Rights

Wachovia Sued for Millions in 1031 Exchange Fraud

Wachovia Corp., the troubled banking and financial services company that was the subject of a bidding war between Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., the target of a $60 billion lawsuit from Citigroup, and that has also been linked to money laundering by Mexican and Columbian drug cartels, has now been sued by the victims of  a fraudulent scheme to steal millions of dollars in client funds held by The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG), a 1031 exchange qualified intermediary scam operated by Ed Okun.

Okun was indicted, along with Lara Coleman, on July 10, 2008, by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Va., and charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, bulk cash smuggling and forfeiture. Okun is also charged with one count of making false statements.

The new lawsuit by the 1031TG Trustee alleges that Wachovia aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty by Edward Okun and Lara Coleman against the 1031 Tax Group Debtors, and seeks to recover more than $140 million of damages arising from such actions.

According to a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on October 2, 2008, by the Trustee for the bankrupt tax-deferral company, “Wachovia was entwined in all aspects of the 1031 debtors’ operations, Okun’s personal finances and Okun’s other businesses” and assisted in the fraud by transferring $240 million to “inappropriate” accounts before the tax firm collapsed and Okun was arrested.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of more than $43 million of conveyances allegedly made to Wachovia in the form of cash and mortgage liens, and the imposition of equitable liens and constructive trusts on several properties in which Wachovia continues to hold liens.

The complaint also asserts that Wachovia housed more than 250 bank accounts for the 1031 Tax Group Debtors as well as other Okun Entities; provided several personal loans to Okun; and made commercial loans to Okun-related entities, such as IPofA affiliates. 

The lawsuit further alleges that during the course of this relationship, Wachovia learned that Okun and others were misappropriating funds of the 1031 Tax Group Debtors, but did nothing to stop the misappropriations, and in fact took steps that furthered the misconduct.