Education is not a bad thing and hedge funds are legitimate but had a higher level of investing freedom than a traditional mutual fund. Some of the guys pinched recently are just plain thieves/ con men. Remember thieves come in all shapes and sizes with different methods (guns vs. computers) and can have different levels of education.
This guy was a legitimate accountant and he just plain stole the 30mm from the Reebok founder:

Palm Beacher sues accountant over $30 million

By MEGAN V. WINSLOW

Palm Beach Daily News

Sunday, January 25, 2009

PALM BEACH — Reebok founder and Palm Beach resident Paul Fireman has filed a lawsuit against his longtime accountant, claiming the man stole millions of dollars from him and his charitable foundation for the homeless through fraud, racketeering and conversion.

During the course of Arnold P. Mullen's employment, he and his associates illegally used more than $30 million from Fireman, Fireman's management company and the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation in Massachusetts to make millions for themselves, according to the lawsuit, filed Friday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Fireman, 64, is seeking damages and an emergency injunction against Mullen, 61, and his associates to prevent them from disposing of property gained through years of unsanctioned investments and money transfers, according to the lawsuit.

Multiple phone calls made Friday and Saturday to Palm Beach County homes owned by Mullen and co-defendants Geoffrey Mullen, his son, and Lennard J. Kligler, his business partner, were not returned.

Fireman's attorneys issued a statement Friday afternoon. "Arnold Mullen was seen as a trusted advisor and friend for almost 25 years while he systematically stole more than $25 million from the Fireman family and their charitable foundation," attorney G. Joseph Curley wrote in an e-mail. "His brazen theft was a terrible betrayal of the trust Paul Fireman placed in him."

According to the lawsuit, Fireman hired Mullen in 1985 to run PFP Associates, a Palm Beach Gardens management company formed to handle Fireman's investments and business activities.

Fireman paid Mullen "handsomely" for his work: more than $800,000 a year plus bonuses based on investment performance, according to the lawsuit.

It was only in November that Fireman began questioning the accountant's character. That's when Fireman learned of a lawsuit claiming Mullen defrauded several investors of millions of dollars by making false representations regarding the development of a Utah ski resort and by using their money to repay his personal investment in the project, according to Fireman's lawsuit.

A subsequent formal audit of PFP uncovered unsanctioned financial transactions and investments Mullen made with Fireman's money to benefit himself, his family and Kligler, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Mullen's unlawful activities include wiring $4.5 million from PFP's business account in 2006 to buy a Lake Worth apartment complex through Esperanza LLC, a West Palm Beach company he and Kligler manage, and Waterfall Associates LLC, a Palm Beach Gardens company he and Geoffrey Mullen manage. When the property fell into foreclosure, Mullen transferred another $13 million to obtain mortgages on it.

"Neither Fireman, nor the Fireman Foundation, had any knowledge of these transactions, nor were they authorized or for the benefit of the Fireman Foundation," according to the lawsuit. "When recently confronted about his actions, Mullen admitted to taking the funds without authorization."

Mullen created a Florida partnership between himself and Fireman called Forum Partners, of which Fireman owned 95 percent and Mullen owned 5 percent, and then used the partnership to transfer millions of dollars from PFP to his personal account or to make various unsanctioned investments, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the accountant also used Fireman Foundation funds to grant various low-interest loans totaling almost $12 million, forged Fireman's signature to invest in IPOs for various banks and altered financial records to try to sell more than 100,000 acres of Nevada ranch land both he and Fireman owned through their controlling interest in a company.

When confronted about some of the accusations, Mullen returned some of the money owed and admitted either his "guilt" or that he "made a mistake," according to the lawsuit.

Fireman is suing Mullen for conversion, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of duty of loyalty. He is suing Mullen, Geoffrey Mullen, Kligler, Esperanza LLC and Waterfall Associates LLC for unjust enrichment.

In 2006, Fireman made the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list at No. 374 with an estimated net worth of $1 billion.

Okay. Question.

With all of these scams/schemes coming to light, how much of the Stock Market gain was real when it hit 14k?

Between the companies busted for accounting scams, and the individual returns not worth the ink cost, how much was just a vapor trail?

It sure seems everyone was scamming everyone, top-to-bottom.

Yep, thats why when I invest it's in a house that is on my way to and from work or in my hood so I can keep an eye on it, my brother and I do the work to fix it up then I sell it. I'm sure lots of people make big money in the market but it aint for me, I need to see and touch my money plus I don't want to go to jail because if somebody took my money I would hunt them and kill them like I was filming Pulp Fiction 2.

sweet ride