Madoff Investor found dead (suicide). Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet

PasturesNew

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFShThgSBha0jHZDYmaPD_dXJdEQD958L9T00

Police say the founder of an investment fund that lost $1.4 billion with Bernard Madoff was found dead Tuesday after committing suicide at his Madison Avenue office.

The New York Police Department says Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet was found sitting at his desk with both wrists slashed. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne also says officers discovered a box cutter near him on the floor and a bottle of sleeping pills on the desk.

Madoff is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that wiped out investors around the world, with big funds like de la Villehuchet's fund being especially hard hit.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of an investment fund that lost millions with Bernard Madoff was found dead Tuesday at his Madison Avenue office of a possible suicide, authorities said.

Authorities found the body of Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet just before 8 a.m. at his office of Access International Advisors, located on Madison Avenue a couple of blocks from Rockefeller Center.

A French newspaper is reporting that the 65-year-old de la Villehuchet committed suicide. The New York medical examiner spokeswoman says it has not determined the cause of death yet.

Madoff is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that wiped out investors around the world, with big funds like de la Villehuchet's $1.4 billion Access International Advisers being especially hard hit.

A former business partner said that de la Villehuchet came from a long line of aristocratic Frenchmen, with the Magon part of his name referring to one of France's most powerful families.

His fund enlisted intermediaries with links to the cream of Europe's high society and jet set to garner clients. Among them was Philippe Junot, a French businessman and friend who is the former husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.

De la Villehuchet, the former chairman and CEO of Credit Lyonnais Securities USA, was also known as a keen sailor who regularly participated in regattas and was a member of the New York Yacht Club.

He lived in an affluent suburb in Westchester County with his wife. There was no answer Tuesday at the family's two-story house, which has a majestic view of a pond.

"He's irreproachable," said Bill Rapavy, who was Access International's chief operating officer before founding his own firm in 2007.

De la Villehuchet's death came as swindled investors began looking for ways to possibly recoup their losses. Hedge funds, which lost big to Madoff, are also coming up against investor lawsuits, since they had a fiduciary responsibility to protect their clients.

A handful of lawsuits have already been filed, all claiming that the hedge funds failed to properly vet Madoff and overlooked some red flags that could have steered them away.

epz_2

cant help but think there are bound to be some very nasty men with cash invested in these schemes who woulnt be happy, taking the easy way out might mean the difference between his death and that of his whole family.

Airwolf1

epz - I don't follow your post. It is one of Madoff's victims who was found dead, not him.

Zagu

I've no doubt that there will be some schadenfreude, but it's sad. It's sad that Madoff thought it was ok to screw up other people's lives the way he has, and its sad that someone thought that no life was preferable to a life without money.

From the BBC:

"Another investor who gave Mr Madoff $2m (£1.35m) to manage has taken legal action against US financial regulators.

Phyllis Molchatsky, a 61-year-old retiree from New York, is seeking $1.7m in damages from the US Securities and Exchange Commission."

I wish Phyllis Molchatsky all the best. SEC have failed to the point where the reason for their existance is called into doubt.

epz_2

he also ran an investment fund, presumable investing money for other potentially bad people

mizzbiz

a la 1929 Wall Street. Worth more dead than alive.

PasturesNew

As a member of French aristocracy, with 1.4billion in the Madoff Ponzi Pot, I suspect he had a lot of his ancestral wealth tied up in it, as well as the wealth of his brothers/sisters/aunts/uncles/nephews/children/neighbours etc.... because of his position they'd have trusted his judgement with their money. So I guess he's likely to have found that he'd just trashed the wealth not of himself/his family, but his entire history and extended family and neighbourhood.

zbob

This is very very sad. Mr Villehuchet sounded like an honorable man. Hopefully we can all learn something from this horiffic tragedy. May he rest in peace.

BlondeHeadOn

This is so tragic. At the end of the day it is only money, and how can money be worth more than someone's life. I feel so desperately sad for his family and friends, and hope that no-one else takes this route.

chucky

tragic and very sad.
maybe not for the schadenfreudeans.

WTF?_2

As far as I can see, his 'hedge fund' consisted of him putting all his clients' money in Madoff's hedge fund.

For which he took the usual fee plus share of profits for 'managing' the fund.

Just shows how much excess money was out there that so much could be creamed off without anyone asking any real questions. And the regulators, the SEC, totally failed to spot and of it, despite being tipped off in 2005:

http://online.wsj.com/documents/Madoff_SECdocs_20081217.pdf

I can't see how anyone would have faith in the financial system right now, frankly.