Open Thread

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Are there more Madoff scams out there?

The ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), says he’s confident there’s more bad news on the way. “History teaches us that if there is a gap in regulatory enforcement, there will not only be one offender that will be devious enough to slip through,” Bachus said. “Unfortunately, when the tide goes out you find out who’s swimming naked, and I suspect that Madoff was not the only one.” Veteran fraud investigators, too, say they’re almost certain that other financial frauds are waiting to be discovered. “There are probably a lot of shocks out there still to come,” said Michael Varnum, a former chief of the FBI’s public corruption and economic crimes programs who’s now a senior vice president at the private investigative firm Corporate Risk International.

How many more "Madoffs" are out there, and how big might they be? What would such revelations do to already nervous stock markets?