The Little Old Lady Suing The SEC Over Madoff Scheme

One 61-year-old woman, who lost her life's savings in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme is taking her revenge out on the SEC, who she says should have protected her from this horrible, horrible man.

WSJ A New York woman who lost nearly $2 million investing with Bernard Madoff has filed a claim against the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging the agency was negligent in failing to detect an alleged decades-long fraud.

The administrative claim for relief was filed with the SEC on Monday and is believed to be the first attempt by an investor to recover lost money from regulators. Phyllis Molchatsky, a 61-year-old retiree from Valley Cottage, N.Y., is seeking $1.7 million in damages from the agency.

Go get'em lady. But does she honestly have a chance? Isn't this a bit like Suing the local police department for "letting" your house get robbed?

5 Comments
 

I actually think that she does have a chance. The SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox, came out and said "the commission has learned that credible and specific allegations regarding Mr. Madoff's financial wrongdoings...were repeatedly brought to the attention of the SEC staff, but were never recommended to the Commission for action." He basically came right out to the public and admitted that the SEC was partially liable for this deboccle due to negligence. As such, I don't see why the 'little old lady' shouldn't be able to get something out of them.

 
WallStreetOasis.comi don't see it working...simply for the fact that if her case was successful you'd have a flood of lawsuits headed right for the FED, SEC, and fire stations.

I agree, it would be a bad/messy precedent for any judge to set.

 

Not that anyone deserves to lose their (almost) entire life savings, but she surly signed up for loses at the same time when she was guided by her greed and un-realistic hopes for unreasonably high returns.

She is 61 - didn't she know better NOT to put ALL her eggs (no pun intended) in one basket, or at least have some "SAFE" investments! I have almost no sympathy (unless it’s my grand mother) for individuals who 1) fail to do their own due diligence (blinded by greed), and then have the audacity to 2) BLAME the system for their actions (or lack of.) She should have thought well when Mr. "Made-Off" was having her sign the dotted line. But nonetheless, since I am feeling generous and it’s the holiday season, no harm in wishing her the best of luck with SEC!

 

Quisquam consequatur magni eos molestiae eos consequatur qui. Velit accusamus quisquam magni earum impedit expedita. Corrupti minus iusto voluptas expedita consectetur corrupti. Qui eius sit laboriosam est ea beatae. Harum harum sint veniam dolor. Tempora laudantium rerum quibusdam est dolorum est.

Itaque ex aut corporis exercitationem suscipit sint minima. Praesentium ut nisi distinctio quia fuga consequuntur architecto voluptas.

Quibusdam fuga vel est necessitatibus laudantium. Natus eos et ab aut impedit iusto modi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”