• It has sold off its asset management business to Bridge Partners LP
• The company is considering Chinatrust Financial Holding Co.'s offer of $2.4 billion for AIG's Taiwanese unit, Nan Shan Life Insurance Co.
• AIG paused the sale of International Lease Finance Corp. as a peer prepares to sell a competing business
  
• It is interviewing 10 banks this week to advise on the IPO of its life insurance unit, American Life Insurance Co., or Alico.

- Maria Woehr

Sept. 2: AIG and Lehman Brothers are born again: Lehman Brothers Holdings Cos (OTC:LEHMQ) and American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) stocks are back from the dead. Well, they're no longer flatlining, at least. This time last year, Lehman was tumbling toward bankruptcy and AIG was inching up to a bailout, but now Lehman Brothers' trading activity is at 50 times normal levels, ringing in at a whopping 32 cents, and AIG is up 400%, around $37 a share. - Maria Woehr

Sept. 2: AIG's Benmosche goes after Wall Street's fees: With stock in his company up over 400%, American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) new CEO Robert Benmosche has been doing things his own way -- halting asset sales, insulting Attorney Generals, taking Croatian vacations ... and is now telling Wall Street banks that he wants a 50% cut in their IPO fees. - George White

Sept. 1: Onex and Greenbriar team with ILFC chief in bid for AIG assets: American International Group Inc.'s auction of its debt-laden aircraft leasing business International Lease Finance Corp. has taken a turn as Greenbriar Equity Group LLC and Onex Corp., which had initially bid to buy the entire unit, are now working on a deal to buy a minority portion of its assets in partnership with Steven Udvar-Hazy, ILFC's chairman and chief executive, according to a source. - Michael Rudnick

Aug. 31: AIG plays the price is right with asset sales: With a hefty government loan hanging over his head, Benmosche has put on his poker face and halted the sale of assets that aren't bringing in the expected bidding prices. At least three asset sales and a public offering could be stalled due to low bids.The sales of AIG's Taiwan unit Nan Shan Life Insurance, International Lease Finance Corp. and AIG Advisors could be held along with the IPOs of American International Assurance, or AIA, and American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, according to several reports. Maria Woehr 

Aug. 28: AIG skyrocketing but could come back to Earth: American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) stock has been hot lately, jumping 132% since its reverse stock split on July 1, and the insurer is up again nearly 13% in late morning Friday trading. Friday's rally, analysts say, is pointed to market optimism. But the stock could  fall back to reality with volatility on the downside almost a certainty in the near future if a New York Times story about some potential land mines on the horizon for the insurer come to fruition. - Gerald Magpily

Aug. 27: AIG soaring on ex and new CEO news: American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) shares are trading in the $47 range. No that's no misprint. The stock is up nearly $10 in early Thursday afternoon trading as investors are bullish on two positive developments. The first story pushing shares higher is the government's expected green light on the insurer's pay package. The second story is a report that former CEO Hank Greenberg has mended relations with the company that could lead to fresh capital for AIG, a Morningstar Inc. analyst noted. - Gerald Magpily

Aug. 25: Perella Weinberg bows out of bidding for AIG unit: Perella Weinberg Partners LP, the New York-based investment bank and asset management firm, has dropped out of a consortium bidding for American International Group Inc.'s asset management arm, according to sources. - Vipal Monga

• AIG Retail Bank Public Co. Ltd. and AIG Card (Thailand) to Bank of Ayudhya
• HSB sale
• Tenaska sale
• AIG private bank sale
• AIG & Unibanco
• AIG Financial Products Corp. has closed the sale of two related commodity hedges for $60.5 million
• Auto insurer 21st Century was sold to Zurich Financial Services' Farmers unit for $2 billion on April 17, and is reportedly already starting integration

• AIG's Advisor Group division, housed within AIG's retirement services division, which consists of three broker-dealers -- SagePoint Financial Inc. of Phoenix, FSC Securities Corp. of Atlanta and Royal Alliance Associates Inc. of New York -- could sell for about $200 million. Private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. and Warburg Pincus have dropped out of the bidding for AIG's Advisor Group division, leaving GTCR Golder Rauner LLC and several new bidders, The Deal's Michael Rudnick reported. However, the three broker-dealers have lost nearly 14% of their advisers since February.
• AIG's asset management business, AIG Investments, could get bids anywhere between $400 million and $800 million for the $100 billion portfolio in the division that manages assets for pension funds, insurance companies and wealthy individuals, said a source close to the situation. Bidders include Ashmore Investment Management, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Rhone Group and TA Associates, as well as mutual fund manager Franklin Templeton and asset manager Southgate Alternative Investments, according to The Wall Street Journal. AIG wants to finish the sale by the end of May, but it could run into trouble if bids sink lower due to valuations of the units.
• The AIG Global Real Estate fund management business has around $12.4 billion in assets and $5.2 billion in equity capital. The unit could be sold for about $9 billion. Interested bidders could include BlackRock Inc. and Blackstone Group LP (which might be a conflict because Blackstone is advising). Included in that is its Japanese headquarters in Tokyo, which may bring in more than $1 billion.
• AIG Edison Life and AIG Star Life Insurance Co. are also up for sale. Bidders could include: Prudential Financial Inc., Manulife Financial Corp., Allianz Group, Aegon NV, Nippon Life Insurance Co., Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., T&D Holdings Inc. and Manulife Life Insurance Co. The value is estimated to be around $1 billion.
• AIG's property and casualty division could also be on the block or may spin out into a public entity.
  

April 30, 2009: AIG's American International Underwriters Holdings, or AIU Holdings -- the property and casualty division -- may go public in the second quarter of 2010 and rename itself or might be sold. - Maria Woehr

April 30, 2009: While ailing insurer AIG struggles to sell some assets at better-than-basement prices, it shouldn't have any problems with property/casualty reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings Inc., which posted another quarterly profit. Transatlantic on April 30 announced net income of $75.2 million for the period ended March 31, compared with $115.7 million for the year-ago period. - Michael Rudnick

April 29, 2009: Farmers Group Inc., having announced earlier this month that it will buy the 21st Century Insurance Group from AIG for $2 billion, quickly followed up with an internal communications campaign that among other things involved sending 50 execs to 32 metro areas to speak directly to 15,000 agents. - Kenneth Klee

April 28, 2009: Five private equity firms are vying for AIG's plum aircraft leasing business, International Lease Finance Corp., sources confirmed. Two groups -- Thomas H. Lee Partners and Carlyle Group, and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC with Onex Corp. -- are participating in second-round bids, according to sources. Another source said London's Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., which submitted a bid, is acting alone, possibly with the participation of its AWAS aircraft leasing group.Sources said bids on ILFC's equity are all below $5 billion. One source said the bids are in the $3 billion to $4 billion range. - Michael Rudnick and David Carey

April 22, 2009: AIG has agreed to sell its car insurance unit, 21st Century Insurance Group, to Farmers Group Inc. for $1.9 billion. Also April 22 AIG announced that it would accelerate the separation of its global property and casualty insurance businesses from the parent company as part of an effort to restructure itself and rebrand its more profitable divisions.- Michael Rudnick

April 21, 2009: AIG announced plans April 21 to transfer its AIU Holdings business into a special purpose vehicle as part of a previously announced restructuring plan to potentially spin off a minority stake in the new holding company to the public over the next nine to 15 months.  - Michael Rudnick

April 20, 2009: AIG said in a regulatory filing on April 20 that the Treasury Department has agreed to provide the company with up to $29.84 billion in additional funds for five years under a securities purchase pact. - Donna Block

April 16, 2008: AIG announced April 16 it had completed the sale of AIG Private Bank Ltd. for $254 million, plus the assumption of $55 million of intra-company loans to Abu Dhabi investment company Aabar Investments PJSC, an affiliate of International Petroleum Investment Co. - Michael Rudnick

April 8, 2009: AIG has asked the Federal Reserve for a $5 billion credit line to help facilitate the sale of its aircraft leasing business, International Lease Finance Corp., as reported late April 7 by the Financial Times, citing people close to the situation. - Michael Rudnick

April 7, 2009: It looks like the auction of AIG's asset management business, AIG Investments, is heating up. Bids for the business are anywhere between $400 million and $800 million for the $100 billion portfolio in the division that manages assets for pension funds, insurance companies and wealthy individuals, said a source close to the situation. Bidders include Ashmore Investment Management, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Rhone Group and TA Associates as well as mutual fund manager Franklin Templeton and asset manager Southgate Alternative Investments, according to The Wall Street Journal. - Maria Woehr

April 7, 2009: TARP cop Neil Barofsky launched an investigation into the insurer's tendency to pay a premium to get out of its CDS contracts. Bloomberg reports that the audit was revealed in a April 3 letter from the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program written to Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. - George White

March 30, 2009: Much of Wall Street is forecasting a profitable first quarter of 2009, which is quite a feat in the midst of the worst financial crisis of the last 80 years. According to Zero Hedge a significant amount of that profit is coming from AIG's rush to unwind its massive credit default swap positions. After already shelling over $75 billion to Goldman, Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., France's Société Générale SA, Germany's Deutsche Bank AG and Britain's Barclays plc, it's good to know that AIG remains everyone's favorite counterparty. - George White

March 27, 2009: Private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. and Warburg Pincus have dropped out of the bidding for AIG's Advisor Group division, leaving GTCR Golder Rauner LLC and several new bidders.- Michael Rudnick

March 26, 2009: AIG has named Rodney Martin Jr. chairman of its International Life and Retirement Services division. Martin will oversee American International Assurance Co. Ltd, or. AIA, American Life Insurance Co. or Alico, AIG Star Life Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Edison Life Insurance Co. and Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Martin has been with New York-based AIG since 1995 and was executive vice president and chairman and CEO of Alico and AIG's Worldwide Life Insurance. - Michael Rudnick

March 26, 2009: AIG's Financial Products unit employee Jake DeSantis, who publicly resigned in a The New York Times op-ed column, is not the only AIG employee stepping forward to publicly resign over CEO Edward Liddy's plea and the U.S. government's demand to return $218 million in bonuses. Many employees are resigning because they feel they are being "blackmailed" and have no other choice. Gerry Pasciucco and about five employees of the unit publicly quit March 25, according to The Wall Street Journal. Another 20 quit March 24, according to The New York Times. - Maria Woehr

March 25, 2009: For the past two weeks, the roar of the media, the government and the American public against AIG for rewarding $165 million in bonuses has been heard loud and clear. But to hear the other side -- besides AIG's CEO Edward Liddy's congressional testimony -- has been uncommon. The New York Times reveals one perspective through the resignation letter addressed to Liddy from Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the AIG Financial Products unit that is at the center of the controversy. - Gerald Magpily

March 25, 2009: Word is that AIG's aircraft leasing unit could get bids from three private equity groups. Thomas H. Lee Partners, Carlyle Group, and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC partnering with Onex Corp. could all bid for International Lease Finance Corp., or ILFC, in the auction's second round in April, according to a Reuters article. - Maria Woehr

March 24, 2009: Working for a company named AIG may be tough with the masses not only protesting outside offices, but accosting staff at their homes too. So, the company gave its employees a break by removing the stained insurer's name and logo from the front entrance at its 175 Water St. location in downtown Manhattan. The sign removal was part of the changing of the name of AIG's property-casualty arm to AIU Holdings Ltd. - Gerald Magpily

March 24, 2009: Many of the employees at AIG's Financial Products unit who received part of the $165 million in retention bonuses have returned them ... and then left the company. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in several reports that 15 of the top 20 recipients agreed to give back their bonuses worth about $30 million in cash. Overall, AIG employees have returned about $50 million in bonuses so far. - Maria Woehr

March 23, 2009: At this point with all the scandals and billions lost, AIG is in need of a new identity, possibly a new name to give people a fresh perspective on the company. Such a move isn't without precedent. For example, cigarette maker Philip Morris Cos. changed its name to Altria Group Inc. a few years ago. Nobody at the company wanted to say it, but one explanation floating around in the media was to disassociate itself with the stigma of selling cancer-causing cigarettes. Then there was WorldCom, which was rocked by an accounting scandal that forced it into bankruptcy and led to a criminal conviction of its founder Bernie Ebbers. Upon exiting bankruptcy, the reorganized company adopted the old MCI name before it ultimately was bought by Verizon Communications Inc., which itself is a 21st century rename for an amalgamation of old Baby Bells. - Maria Woehr

March 23, 2009: A top White House economic adviser Sunday suggested that President Obama might refuse to sign legislation that would largely confiscate bonuses paid this year to employees of AIG and other companies that have accepted large amounts of federal bailout funds. The House March 20 approved a 90% tax on bonuses paid this year to AIG employees and workers at other firms participating in the federal government's efforts to shore up the financial system. Similar legislation introduced in the Senate late March 20 would place a 70% total tax on the bonuses, consisting of a 35% excise tax on companies paying bonuses and a 35% tax on employees receiving them. - Bill McConnell

March 20, 2009: AIG could be making its way back into the penny stock range as its shares sunk 36 cents, or 22.22%, on March 20 to close at $1.26 per share. If Uncle Sam, which has warrants to be about 78% of AIG's shares, was a smart investor, it would be doing everything in its power to boost the ailing insurer's value. However, the House of Representatives on March 19 voted to impose a 90% tax on the payouts by AIG and other companies that get large amounts of taxpayer rescue funds. According to reports, some analysts said this type of legislation could destroy the competitiveness of the very financial institutions they are trying to rescue. - Michael Rudnick

March 20, 2009: AIG's  employees are going to have an interesting weekend. There are already reports that 463 executives along with other employees are being harassed by neighbors and members of their community to return the $165 million in bonuses awarded. AIG CEO Edward Liddy asked the employees that received the bonuses to return them. Meanwhile, the insurer's corporate security cautioned employees "to increase their overall safety and security," avoid wearing name badges and avoid wearing any AIG apparel. - Maria Woehr

March 20, 2009: The blowup over bonuses paid to the traders in AIG's discredited financial products arm required company chairman Edward Liddy to explain to Congress last week how recklessness, poor judgment and flimsy oversight conspired to crash the insurance conglomerate and almost dragged the global economy down with it. Liddy's sordid chronology made it clear that no regulator had a sufficient bird's-eye view over AIG, as the London-based unit built a book of business in mortgage-based credit default swaps more than twice the size of the company's net worth. That line of business would leave the firm vulnerable to billions of dollars in collateral calls when the housing market got even the slightest bit shaky. - Bill McConnell

March 19, 2009: Evidently the public isn't dealing with its anger over AIG's compensation plans in a cool and calm manner, as the Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products are besieged with threats by e-mail and telephone, while outside armed guards keep the wolves at bay.The exposure of three top earners from the division by the New York Post earlier likely has those staffers ignoring the ringing phone or staying with friends until things calm down. - George White

March 19, 2009: The nation is outraged over AIG, not only for the bonuses but also for pass-through bailout funds to counterparties.The larger point here is that we don't seem to know -- either about the nature of the CDS book or about the systemic effect of an AIG failure or bankruptcy. The fact is, if we truly understood the situation, then the trader's option would be moot. But we clearly do not. AIGFP continues to be characterized as a black box ruled by the traders. This raises three possibilities. First, we (including Treasury) are being fooled by the lethality of AIGFP and, by extension, AIG. Who wants to test it? Second, the CDS book is so complex that no one can untangle it. Third, traders at AIGFP possess an insight, born of creating the book in the first place, that makes them irreplaceable. Only in the third case does paying the bonuses makes sense. But even that comes with a caveat: If these guys can figure it out, why hasn't the government over the past six months of ownership camped out in London and modeled the damn book and gained a greater sense of certainty about its dynamics? Why over this length of time do the traders remain irreplaceable? - Robert Teitelman

March 19, 2009: It appears that AIG is so intertwined in the financial system that the administration has to prop it up in spite of how unpopular it is. But can the same be said for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner? The uproar over AIG shelling out retention bonuses to its financial products unit doesn't seem likely to die down anytime soon and has driven public approval for government bailouts from poor to dismal. The populist backlash already has some in Congress calling for heads to roll, and Geithner, who was instrumental in all the bailouts beginning with Bear Stearns Cos. a year ago, is looking like the perfect fall guy. - George White

March 18, 2008: AIG's CEO Edward Liddy endured his trial by fire before a House subcommittee March 18 over the issue of the millions in bonuses paid to the company's derivatives unit. With anger at the company raging, Liddy was wise enough to come to Congress with some concessions designed to quell public anger with AIG. Specifically, Liddy said that the company was requesting that recipients of money in AIG Financial Products return 50% of the funds and went on to say that some members of the division had already returned 100% of the retention pay. - George White

March 18, 2009: After enduring a barrage of invective from Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the top House lawmaker March 17 that the Obama administration is taking steps to recoup $165 million in bonuses paid to employees. In addition, the Treasury will deduct the bonus amount from the recent $30 billion in assistance. - Bill McConnell

March 18, 2009: Edward Liddy uses the pages of Wednesday's Washington Post to join the public's outrage over the retention bonuses paid to employees of AIG's Global Economy Destruction unit. The insurer's CEO insists that he is as angry as everyone else about the payments. - Jeffrey Kanige

March 17, 2009: AIG has apparently started layoffs and budgeted $57 million in "retention" pay for employees expected to be terminated, according to news reports. - Maria Woehr

March 17, 2009: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley's suggests that AIG's brass commit suicide for accepting the $165 million in bonus money. - George White

March 16, 2009: AIG said it used most of the first $85 billion it received from the U.S. government to pay a host of domestic and foreign banks and some U.S. municipalities. As various media have reported, the giant insurer, now 80% owned by the U.S. government, used much of the $173.3 billion it received in federal aid to pay its trading partners and municipalities. Responding to congressional requests for transparency, AIG revealed over the weekend that banks that acted as its counterparties in credit default swap trades received a total of $43.7 billion from the bailout funds. The list of banks includes foreign and U.S. Institutions such as Barclays plc, Deutsche Bank AG, BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp., to name the top five, in order. - Vipal Monga and Peter Moreira

March 12, 2009: Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. has dropped out of the race for AIG's Advisor Group division, according to a source close to the situation. As of last week, Ameriprise, along with private equity firms Clayton, Dublier & Rice Inc., GTCR Golder Rauner LLC and Warburg Pincus, were expected to submit final bids at the end of March, as earlier reported by The Deal. - Michael Rudnick

March 9, 2009: The U.K.'s Prudential plc is no longer bidding for AIG's Asian business. The London insurer had been considered a front-runner in the race to acquire American International Assurance Co. Ltd., or AIA, and its departure follows soon after the withdrawal of state-backed China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. from the auction. Both Prudential and Canada's Manulife Financial Corp. submitted bids last week for AIA, but their offers came in far short of AIG's target of at least $20 billion, reports said. - Neil Sen

March 6, 2006: So what does Leo Strine think of Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and his henchmen at AIG? "The complaint fairly supports the assertion that AIG's inner circle led a -- and I use this term with knowledge of its strength -- criminal organization," the Delaware Court of Chancery vice chancellor wrote in the middle of a 105-page opinion issued Feb. 10, in which he declined to dismiss a suit by AIG shareholders against the company, Greenberg and several of the senior managers who served under him. - David Marcus

March 5, 2009: AIG suspended talks with bidders for its foreign life insurance unit, American Life Insurance Co., or Alico. The news comes days after the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board unveiled their third bailout of AIG, injecting an additional $30 billion into the insurer and taking direct control of AIA and Alico. AIG, which has received $180 billion in government aid in six months, on March 2 posted a record loss of $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. - Peter Moreira

March 4, 2009: AIG is apparently suspending the sale of its American Life Insurance unit, or Alico, and is instead considering taking it public next year. AIG received preliminary offers for its Asian unit, and the offers were apparently falling short. At the same time politicians are ratcheting up the pressure on the company and the Federal Reserve to reveal the identities of the counterparties being made whole by the insurer's three bailouts. AIG also said it would retain its Philamlife unit. - Maria Woehr and George White

March 3, 2009: In his testimony before the Senate Budget Committee March 3, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke showed his frustration with the numerous AIG bailouts, saying the rescue of AIG has made him more angry than any other rescue. Bernanke said AIG's financial service unit was basically a hedge fund operating in a traditional insurance company. He said they had no choice but to step in to rescue AIG to stabilize the system. Some analysts believe that it will take at least another $60 billion to stabilize AIG. In fact the insurer even said more money may be necessary after March 2's latest government deal. - Donna Block and Maria Woehr

March 2, 2009: AIG's new bailout plan -- for $30 billion in additional aid money amid $61.7 billion in fourth-quarter losses -- may be banking on diminishing expectations. Under the revised plan, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is taking stakes in the insurer's sizable Asian life insurance subsidiaries, allowing the embattled New York insurer to reduce the $38 billion it owes the government by up to $26 billion. But it may not take into account any decline in value from potential customer attrition and employee loss. The government said it planned to reduce AIG's $60 billion credit facility in return for preferred shares in American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, and American International Assurance Co. Ltd. AIG said it is continuing to review options for these businesses, which could include a public offering of shares. In an SEC filing late March 2, the giant insurer said that a downgrade by the ratings agencies would result in AIG having to pay $8 billion in collateral and termination payments to counterparties, thereby rendering it insolvent without more cash from the government or other sources. - Michael Rudnick and George White

March 2, 2009: While promising on Bloomberg Television March 2 that every penny of the $180 billion in government funds would be paid back, AIG CEO Edward Liddy laid the blame for the company's dismal condition squarely at the feet of Hank Greenberg, the man who built AIG into the world's largest insurer. - George White

Feb. 25, 2009: The auction for AIG's Asian operations is reportedly not as heated as the troubled insurance giant had hoped, with the weak economy causing some potential buyers to think twice. Three potential buyers remain interested in American International Assurance Co., according to Reuters, with bids due Feb. 27. The report lists Prudential plc of the U.K., Manulife Financial Corp. of Canada and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. as the parties considering offers for a stake in the unit. But a number of other prospective bidders, including HSBC Holdings plc, Bank of China Ltd. and AXA SA, have abandoned the process. - Lou Whiteman

Feb. 24, 2009: AIG  is talking to the U.S. government about a new rescue package that could be announced as early as next week. The Financial Times reported Feb. 24 that New York-based AIG, which is already 80% owned by the government, is in negotiations to obtain fresh capital as a buffer to expected fourth-quarter 2008 losses and to allow more time to sell units. - Peter Moreira

Feb 20, 2009: Prudential Financial Inc. is apparently in the lead to buy AIG Edison Life Insurance Co. and AIG Star Life Insurance, two Japanese life insurers, for between $1.1 billion and $2.1 billion, according to Reuters. London life insurer Prudential plc said it would transfer the assets and most of the liabilities of its Taiwanese agency business to Taiwan's China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. for a nominal sum of 1 new Taiwan dollar (3 cents). Prudential will in turn pay £45 million ($64.4 million) for new stock in China Life, giving it close to a 10% stake. The transaction with China Life will increase Prudential's capital surplus by £800 million. - Laura Board

Feb. 19, 2009: Bidders for its Philamlife unit have until Feb. 23 to submit their bids, and the sale, which is expected to net $4 billion, could be announced the first week of March, according to Reuters. The four potential buyers for the Philippine life insurance business are the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Banco de Oro Unibank, Manulife Financial Corp. and an unidentified foreign investor. - Maria Woehr

Feb. 13, 2009: AIG is hocking its Japanese headquarters to pay off a $60 billion loan from the U.S. Federal Reserve. - Michael Rudnick

Feb. 12, 2009: It appears that Bank of China Ltd. isn't bidding for American International Assurance, although it was cited as the preferred bidder heading into the process in reports by Dow Jones and the Financial Times. - Maria Woehr

Feb. 11, 2009: AIG is in talks to sell its U.S. auto insurance division, 21st Century Insurance Group, to Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Group. - Michael Rudnick

Feb. 6, 2009: AIG is close to a deal to sell its three broker-­dealers to a private equity firm, an executive of one of the units told its affiliates Friday. It could be the first large asset sale by the troubled insurer, which the federal government now controls. - John E. Morris

Feb. 5, 2009: The insurer said that it has signed a $535.7 million deal to sell its Bangkok-based banking and credit card businesses, AIG Retail Bank Co. Ltd. and AIG Card (Thailand) Co. Ltd., to a local commercial bank, Bank of Ayudha Public Co. Ltd. Bank of Ayudha will pay $58.7 million in cash and $477 million to cover intercompany loans tied to the businesses. - Michael Rudnick

Feb. 5, 2009: Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, the CEO of C.V. Starr, said in an interviewall time low. with CNBC that AIG "is more than a troubled company" and has "lost its way" after the AIG's shares hit - Maria Woehr

Feb. 2, 2009: AIG faces major hurdles in divesting aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp.: its enormous size and gargantuan debt. The Century City, Calif., subsidiary holds $33 billion in debt, as of the third quarter ended Sept. 30, that may be prohibitive to a sale amid virtually frozen financing markets. - Michael Rudnick

Jan. 30, 2009: AIG's new vice chairman and restructuring chief, told Bloomberg that AIG may consider preparing some of its business units for initial public offerings. - Michael Rudnick

Jan. 26, 2009: Continuing its massive divestment program, AIG said Jan. 26 that its AIG Global Real Estate unit is putting its fund management business up for sale. The fund management business operates 15 fund programs with over $12.4 billion in assets under management and $5.2 billion in equity capital commitments as of Sept. 30. - Donna Block

Jan. 23, 2009: AIG Europe said it raised €680 million ($877 million) in cash by selling subordinated debt. The Paris-based unit of AIG also said it is not for sale as part of its parent's asset sales. Also, AIG's chief investment officer Win Neuger will step down. - Michael Rudnick

Jan. 20, 2009: Zurich's UBS said it would pay $15 million up-front and up to $135 million -- depending on the target's earnings -- over the next 18 months for AIG's commodity index business including AIG's rights to the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index. - Andrew Bulkeley

Jan. 16, 2009: AIG's Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., known as Philamlife, seems to be one of the ailing insurer's most attractive assets, as numerous media reports in recent months have pointed to more than half a dozen potential buyers for the business. The latest: Philippine conglomerate SM Investment Corp., said Jan. 16 that it has started the due diligence review of Philamlife, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Teresita Sy, vice chairman of SM Investments, told Dow Jones and other reporters at a local event that she expects AIG to name the winning bidder within the first quarter. - Michael Rudnick

Jan. 13, 2009: Canada's fourth-largest bank, BMO Financial Group, purchased AIG Life of Canada, which sells insurance and retirement savings products, for about C$375 million ($308 million). - Maria Woehr

Jan 9, 2009: AIG will keep hordes of lawyers and bankers busy as it sells most of its assets in an effort to pay back the $150 billion or so the U.S. government has loaned it since September. Many of those advisers will come from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, the company's longtime outside counsel, which advised AIG on the $746 million sale of equipment insurer HSB Group Inc. to Munich Re AG in a deal announced Dec. 22. - Vipal Monga

Jan. 8, 2009: Seven senior executives at AIG won't be getting that $3 million in deferred compensation they were expecting to be paid by April. An SEC filing said that on Dec. 31, 2008, "AIG determined instead to distribute account balances only to current agents and employees (excluding former employees and agents), and to exclude current executive officers from such distributions." Meaning the 4,000 employees that took part in the retirement plans will be paid at a later date. The participants in total are due about $273.5 million. - Maria Woehr

Jan. 6, 2009: Former AIG CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg wants the board of directors to explain its sale process after it apparently sold off an asset at a "fire sale" price in an effort to repay a $152.5 billion loan from the U.S. government. - Maria Woehr

December 24, 2008: AIG said Dec. 24 that a financing entity it created jointly with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has bought $16 billion in multisector collateralized debt obligations from counterparties that had purchased credit default swaps from the insurer. The credit default swap contracts written by AIG's Financial Products Corp. division that covered these CDOs in the case of default have been terminated. The CDO purchase was funded by a net payment of $6.7 billion and the surrender of about $9.2 billion in collateral previously posted to CDS counterparties by AIGFP. To date, AIG has purchased $62 billion in CDOs from its CDS counterparties. - Michael Rudnick

Dec. 23, 2008: Former AIG chief executive Hank Greenberg sees the government takeover of the New York-based insurer to be the cause of its demise. Greenberg on CNBC Tuesday said the government's solution of essentially buying 80% of AIG was too extreme and would force his former company to liquidate the company's assets. - Gerald Magpily

Dec. 22, 2008: German reinsurer Munich Re AG Dec. 22 agreed to take equipment insurer HSB Group Inc. from AIG as the New York group raises funds to repay a massive government bailout. Munich Re, which takes its name from its southern German home town, said it would pay $742 million for HSB and absorb $76 million in debt from the target, parent of Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. - Andrew Bulkeley

Dec. 16, 2008: AIG has sold $39.3 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities assets to Maiden Lane II LLC, a fund established by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. - Maria Woehr

Dec. 11, 2008: In a speech in Hong Kong Dec. 11, AIG's CEO Edward Liddy said he was meeting with potential bidders in January, but that the pace and the order of the asset sales may vary and could take months or longer to complete. Liddy was addressing reports that said AIG would sell assets by the end of the year. - Maria Woehr

Dec. 9, 2008: AIG could soon announce more asset sales. It looks like AIG will be selling more assets off soon so that it can start paying off its $150 billion government bailout. AIG made its first asset sale Dec. 1, agreeing to sell a Swiss private bank to Aabar Investments PJSC for Sfr407 million ($336 million). AIG also sold its interest in natural gas marketer Tenaska Marketing Ventures, Tenaska Gas Storage and Tenaska Marketing Canada to Tenaska Inc. for an undisclosed amount in a sale expected to close on Jan. 2. So what might be next? - Maria Woehr

Sept. 15 2008,: U.S. financial landscape shifts

Earlier in the day, AIG was said to be seeking $40 billion in capital to avoid a ratings downgrade and has been in talks with JC Flowers & Co. LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital. The company's share price had fallen 66% to $4.13 by early Monday afternoon on news reports that the insurer was seeking support from the Federal Reserve and is in rescue talks with billionaire Warren Buffett. AIG's stock has now lost more than 90% of its value this year. The financial titan is seeking a $40 billion bridge loan from the Fed, though it isn't clear whether the central bank will grant the request, The New York Times reported. Other press reports said Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is in rescue talks with AIG.

"We believe that AIG has sufficient capital and liquidity to meet its policy obligations and potential collateral requirements, which are significantly greater than the expected cash losses on the mortgage-related assets," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Rodney Clark said. The ratings agency had announced that it was putting AIG on CreditWatch for a possible downgrade. "However, additional market value losses will place some strain on the company's resources," Clark said. - Vipal Monga and Peter Moreira

See also: AIG in discussions with PE firms, seeks Fed help.

Sept. 13, 2008: Government, Wall Street CEOs in emergency talks

Top government officials and the chiefs of the world's top banks held their second day of emergency meetings Sept. 13. The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 13 that Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack, Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Citigroup Inc. head Vikram Pandit and representatives from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. were at the meeting, along with Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan, Morgan Stanley chief financial officer Colm Kelleher, Citigroup chief financial officer Gary Crittenden, UBS chief risk officer Thomas Daula, J.P. Morgan investment bank co-head Steve Black and Goldman Sachs co-president Gary Cohn.

Although it appeared as if the talks were centered mainly on finding a way to either sell Lehman or liquidate the bank without causing major market disruptions, press reports suggested that the talks had widened to include discussions of other embattled financial services companies, Washington Mutual Inc. and AIG, both of whom have also seen their stock prices erode amid a deterioration in market confidence and continuing troubles related to the housing market and mortgage-backed securities. - Vipal Monga

A ROUGH FEW MONTHS: STEEP LOSSES, ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDERS, CEO OUSTER, RATINGS DOWNGRADES

July 31, 2007: Hedge Fund and PE slowdown expected to hit AIG's earnings

At the end of July, Bloomberg reported that AIG's "earning from so-called alternative holdings were probably close to zero in the second quarter, after soaring 77% to $1.02 billion a year earlier, said Citigroup Inc. analyst Joshua Shanker." The news service said that insurers increased their private equity and hedge fund assets by 48% to $49.8 billion in 2007, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. But the credit crunch has cut off the once lucrative flow of money to insurers. - G.W.

June 16, 2007: AIG names Willumstad CEO

Back in June, Robert Willumstad, the former Citigroup Inc. heavyweight who left the world's biggest bank when denied the CEO job, was named CEO of AIG, adding to his role as chairman. New York-based AIG announced June 15 that its board had ousted chief executive Martin Sullivan and that Willumstad would replace him. Willumstad had been named chairman at the insurance giant in September 2006, shortly after he left Citigroup.

In recent months, the AIG board was known to be getting impatient with Sullivan, 53, because of consistent underestimates of the company's exposure to mortgage-related securities. In May, AIG reported a first-quarter loss of $7.8 billion after writing down the market value of the AIG Financial Product's derivatives portfolio by $9.11 billion. It was its second record quarterly loss in a row. - P.M.

June 12, 2007: Report: AIG holders seek board and management changes

The shakeup news came days after a powerful trio of AIG shareholders including a former director of the insurer, Eli Broad, Legg Mason Capital Management fund manager Bill Miller and Shelby Davis, founder of Davis Advisors, are urging for change in the ailing insurance company's board and management. - Michael Rudnick

May 23, 2007: AIG's credit gets Moody's downgrade; AIG downgrades spell trouble

Credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings already downgraded debt ratings on the world's largest insurer, AIG. Now, fellow credit agency Moody's Investor Service joined the downgrade bandwagon, lowering its senior unsecured debt rating on AIG to Aa3 from Aa2 Thursday, based partly on the company's recent announcement of a $7.81 billion first-quarter loss. 

The downgrade follows AIG's announcement that it was able to raise $20 billion last week to shore up its reserves from the first-quarter loss. The company said it would also selectively sell some noncore assets in more high-growth businesses for additional money, which AIG CEO Martin Sullivan points to as "foreign life and retirement and its aircraft leasing business." Sullivan wanted to boost confidence in its aircraft leasing business, International Lease Finance, which made rumblings of wanting to be sold following S&P's and Fitch's downgrades. With Moody's now downgrading AIG, the question arises whether International Lease will continue the push for a possible divestment from its parent. - Gerald Magpily

MODEST DEALMAKING WENT ON

Even through the beginning of the year, the dealmaking went on for AIG.

Popular Inc., the parent of Puerto Rico's Banco Popular, agreed Jan. 23, 2008 to sell a substantial portion of the assets of its consumer finance unit Equity One to American General Finance Inc., a unit of insurance giant American International Group Inc., for $1.5 billion. - Donna Block

Sept. 15: U.S. financial landscape shifts

Earlier in the day, AIG was said to be seeking $40 billion in capital to avoid a ratings downgrade and has been in talks with J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital. The company's share price had fallen 66% to $4.13 by early Monday afternoon on news reports that the insurer was seeking support from the Federal Reserve and is in rescue talks with billionaire Warren Buffett. AIG's stock has now lost more than 90% of its value this year. The financial titan is seeking a $40 billion bridge loan from the Fed, though it isn't clear whether the central bank will grant the request, The New York Times reported. Other press reports said Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is in rescue talks with AIG.

"We believe that AIG has sufficient capital and liquidity to meet its policy obligations and potential collateral requirements, which are significantly greater than the expected cash losses on the mortgage-related assets," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Rodney Clark said Friday. The ratings agency had announced that it was putting AIG on CreditWatch for a possible downgrade. "However, additional market value losses will place some strain on the company's resources," Clark said. - Vipal Monga and Peter Moreira

See also: AIG in discussions with PE firms, seeks Fed help.

EMERGENCY TALKS

Sept. 13: Government, Wall Street CEOs in emergency talks

Top government officials and the chiefs of the world's top banks held their second day of emergency meetings Sept. 13. The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 13 that Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack, Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Citigroup Inc.head Vikram Pandit and representatives from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. were at the meeting, along with Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan, Morgan Stanley chief financial officer Colm Kelleher, Citigroup chief financial officer Gary Crittenden, UBS chief risk Oofficer Thomas Daula, J.P. Morgan investment bank co-head Steve Black and Goldman Sachs co-president Gary Cohn.

Although it appeared as if the talks were centered mainly on finding a way to either sell Lehman or liquidate the bank without causing major market disruptions, press reports suggested Saturday that the talks had widened to include discussions of other embattled financial services companies, Washington Mutual Inc. and AIG, both of whom have also seen their stock prices erode amid a deterioration in market confidence and continuing troubles related to the housing market and mortgage-backed securities. - V.M.

A ROUGH FEW MONTHS: STEEP LOSSES, ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDERS, CEO OUSTER, RATINGS DOWNGRADES

July 31: Hedge Fund and PE slowdown expected to hit AIG's earnings

At the end of July, Bloomberg reported that AIG's "earning from so-called alternative holdings were probably close to zero in the second quarter, after soaring 77% to $1.02 billion a year earlier, said Citigroup Inc. analyst Joshua Shanker." The news service said that insurers increased their private equity and hedge fund assets by 48% to $49.8 billion in 2007, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. But the credit crunch has cut off the once lucrative flow of money to insurers. - G.W.

June 16: AIG names Willumstad CEO

Back in June, Robert Willumstad, the former Citigroup Inc. heavyweight who left the world's biggest bank when denied the CEO job, was named CEO of AIG, adding to his role as chairman. New York-based AIG announced June 15 that its board had ousted chief executive Martin Sullivan and that Willumstad would replace him. Willumstad had been named chairman at the insurance giant in September 2006, shortly after he left Citigroup.

In recent months, the AIG board was known to be getting impatient with Sullivan, 53, because of consistent underestimates of the company's exposure to mortgage-related securities. In May, AIG reported a first-quarter loss of $7.8 billion after writing down the market value of the AIG Financial Product's derivatives portfolio by $9.11 billion. It was its second record quarterly loss in a row. - P.M.

June 12: Report: AIG holders seek board and management changes

The shakeup news came days after a powerful trio of AIG shareholders including a former director of the insurer, Eli Broad, Legg Mason Capital Management fund manager Bill Miller and Shelby Davis, founder of Davis Advisors, are urging for change in the ailing insurance company's board and management. - Michael Rudnick

May 23: AIG's credit gets Moody's downgrade; AIG downgrades spell trouble

Credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings already downgraded debt ratings on the world's largest insurer, AIG. Now, fellow credit agency Moody's Investor Service joined the downgrade bandwagon, lowering its senior unsecured debt rating on AIG to Aa3 from Aa2 Thursday, based partly on the company's recent announcement of a $7.81 billion first-quarter loss. 

The downgrade follows AIG's announcement that it was able to raise $20 billion last week to shore up its reserves from the first-quarter loss. The company said it would also selectively sell some noncore assets in more high-growth businesses for additional money, which AIG CEO Martin Sullivan points to as "foreign life and retirement and its aircraft leasing business." Sullivan wanted to boost confidence in its aircraft leasing business, International Lease Finance, which made rumblings of wanting to be sold following S&P's and Fitch's downgrades. With Moody's now downgrading AIG, the question arises whether International Lease will continue the push for a possible divestment from its parent. - Gerald Magpily

MODEST DEALMAKING WENT ON

Even through the beginning of the year, the dealmaking went on for AIG.

Popular Inc., the parent of Puerto Rico's Banco Popular, agreed Jan. 23, to sell a substantial portion of the assets of its consumer finance unit Equity One to American General Finance Inc., a unit of insurance giant American International Group Inc., for $1.5 billion. - Donna Block

AIG said in May 2007 it would acquire the shares it did not own in 21st Century Insurance Group for about $813 million, topping its previous offer of $690 million. AIG already owned, through its subsidiaries, about 60.8% of the outstanding shares of Woodland Hills, Calif.-based 21st Century. - D.B.

The latest: Nov. 3: Today in investment fraud: Stanford un-knighted: That's right. Today in investment fraud, Sir Allen Stanford, who allegedly perpetrated a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, is to be stripped of his knighthood. - Sara Behunek

Nov. 3: More tales of ineptitude about the SEC: "I don't think we should worry about Bernie finding out to whom we speak ... we are not telling anybody that we have found anything improper (except for his lies to us, of course)."

That is an excerpt from an e-mail one Securities and Exchange Commission investigator wrote May 16, 2006, and part of hundreds of documents released Friday by the SEC. - Sara Behunek

Nov. 2: Madoff surprised he was not caught sooner: It appears that no one was more surprised by the Securities and Exchange Commission's inability to uncover his fraud than convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff himself. In a jailhouse interview released late Friday by H. David Kotz, the SEC's inspector general, Madoff waxed lyrical about the bumbling and bungling of the agency's inspectors and says he was "astonished" that no one caught him earlier. - Donna Block

Oct. 16: Hedge fund giant charged with insider trading: Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and his cohorts allegedly made $20 million by trading on information in the stocks of several companies including Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD), Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) and Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM). - Donna Block

Oct. 12: Snipes gets clipped -- again: When it comes to managing his money, actor Wesley Snipes, best known for his role as vampire hunter "Blade," can't seem to get it right. First he botched his income taxes, and now he's caught up in a Ponzi scheme. - Donna Block

Oct. 12: Bear Stearns hedgies trial begins Tuesday: Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin are headed to the courtroom Tuesday. A jury will finally decide if the two hedge fund managers are scapegoats or criminals, and the trial could set a precedent for how the government will pursue other  legal proceedings involving Wall Street executives. - Maria Woehr

Oct. 2: Madoff trustee wants investor to return $7.2B: Irving Picard wants Bernard Madoff investor Jeffrey Picower to return the $7.2 billion in profits he earned from his Madoff account over 30 years. Picower was the biggest beneficiary of Madoff's $65 billion scam, Picard said in court papers filed on Thursday. - Donna Block

Sept. 28: Picard: Could be bankruptcy for Madoff clan: The court-appointed trustee in the Bernard L. Madoff case, Irving Picard, will file suit this week against Madoff's sons Mark and Andrew, his brother Peter and niece Shana for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty in their roles at the company -- a development that comes as little surprise in the ongoing saga. - Sara Behunek

Sept. 24: SEC nabs insider trader in Dell-Perot deal: Stupid is as stupid does. With all the high-tech and extensive monitoring systems the stock exchanges use to keep an eye on large numbers of transactions each day, searching for trades that are out of the ordinary is no biggie. And, when there is a huge M&A transaction like Dell Inc.'s (NASDAQ:DELL) $3.9 billion takeover of Perot Systems Corp. (NYSE:PER), any anomaly will sound an alarm. - Donna Block

Sept. 22: RBC Capital's dating disaster: As far as dating disasters go, this one takes the cake. Fired for having a personal relationship with an alleged crook, a former trader at RBC Capital Markets is now suing her former boss for gender discrimination. - Donna Block

Sept. 16: Fraudster Stanford gets public defender: Jailed Ponzi schemer and cricket enthusiast R. Allen Stanford wanted a high-priced attorney to defend him; instead, he's getting a public defender. - Donna Block

Sept. 15: Many profited from Madoff's Ponzi scheme: rin Arvedlund's "Too Good to be True" is one of the first books about the Bernie Madoff scandal. The book is billed as chronicling "the rise and fall" of Madoff by "the author of the groundbreaking 2001 Barron's article" on the now-incarcerated financier. Neither claim is entirely true: Madoff's rise, on the backs of (what appears to have been) a perfectly legal brokerage operation, is indeed well-documented here and appears to even have some new information. - Nathaniel Baker

Sept. 14: Alleged fraudster Pang dies: California financier Danny Pang, accused by federal regulators of defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars and under house arrest since April, will not have his day in court nor will his alleged victims, because he died Saturday morning. - Donna Block

Sept. 11: Madoff on how to outsmart the SEC: Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin released a transcript of a phone call with Fairfield Greenwich Group Wednesday during which Madoff coached its chief risk officer on how to bamboozle federal regulators. - Donna Block

Sept. 10: Madoffism becomes a world phenomenon: Everywhere seems to have its own Bernie Madoff. For example Dealscape recently highlighted Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Philip Barry, a money manager that investigators on Sept. 8 charged with ripping off more than $40 million. But the U.S. aside, even tiny Lebanon has a Madoff. - Carolyn Okomo

Aug. 31: Cerberus' troubles shed light on Madoff feeder funds: Problems at Cerberus Capital Management LP may provide a rare glimpse into the difficulties facing Bart M. Schwartz, the trustee charged with unwinding two of the three hedge funds managed by J. Ezra Merkin, Bernie Madoff's bosom buddy who fed $2.4 billion of his clients' assets into the historic Ponzi scheme. - Sara Behunek

Aug. 27: Stanford's world is crumbling around him: It's turning out to be a really bad day for alleged Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford. It all started when word spread Thursday morning that James Davis -- Stanford's friend, right-hand man and CFO -- pleaded guilty in a Houston court for his role in the $7 billion fraud. - Donna Block

Aug 25: Today in investment fraud: Fund manager Bradley Ruderman reportedly cheated investors, many of them family members, out of $25 million. Meanwhile, financial adviser Mary Wong reportedly stole $3 million from eight victims in a Ponzi scheme. - Sara Behunek

Aug 24: Madoff cancer report untrue: Bernard Madoff is sure to bite the big one behind bars, but it will not be of cancer, as the New York Post reported the convicted swindler is suffering. - Sara Behunek

Aug. 14: Chavez rescues Stanford victims: Hugo Chavez to the rescue. The Venezuelan president is bailing out the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda to the tune of $50 million as it tries to recover from a far-reaching banking scandal and the recession.

Fraudster R. Allen Stanford was Antigua's largest employer after the government and before his company, Stanford International Bank, was charged with running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme in February and shut down. - Donna Block

Aug. 12: Madoff associate DiPascali behind bars: Go directly to jail, do not pass go. If Bernard Madoff's right-hand man thought he would be allowed to remain free on bail because he has been cooperating with the FBI on the nitty gritty of how the $65 billion Ponzi scheme was carried out, he was wrong. - Donna Block

Aug. 11: Madoff's No. 2 is going down: It appears that a reunion between Bernie Madoff and his No. 2 for 33 years, Frank DiPascali, will have to happen behind bars. Dipascali, 52, was charged Tuesday with a laundry list of crimes that could land him in his own medium-security cell for 125 years, according to an update on the U.S. Department of Justice We bsite. - Sara Behunek

Aug. 11: Stanford's lawyer says 'show me the money': As accused Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford sits in jail, his criminal defense attorney Dick DeGuerin is heading for the exits. DeGuerin no longer wants to represent Stanford because he doesn't know if he will get paid. The court, though, is insisting that he stay on until someone else can be found. - Donna Block

Aug. 6: Cotchett targets banks in Madoff fraud: In the latest twist in the Bernard Madoff scandal, San Francisco trial lawyer Joseph Cotchett (pictured), the legal representative for several Madoff victims, is taking aim at larger investment banks, the New York Post reports. Cotchett alleges that the banks failed to conduct sufficient due diligence -- or even worse, realized that Madoff was a fraudster and didn't protect their clients. - Sara Behunek

Aug. 4: Alleged grifter's marks land on the block: Did alleged grifter Dina Wein-Reis' actions lead to the sale of Tom's of Maine? Or prompt Unilever NV  (NYSE:UN) and Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) to auction off assets involved in her 15-year-long scam? It would certainly be a stretch to believe the alleged scam that netted Wein-Reis about $12 million to $15 million a year prompted the massive multinationals to sell detergent and shampoo businesses; nonetheless, these assets landed on the auction block shortly after the parent's realized the scam. - Matthew Wurtzel

July 30: Feeder funds groan as Madoff spills his guts: Now that he's behind bars, Bernard Madoff is apparently starting to spill his guts about his decades-long $65 billion Ponzi scheme, and it looks like his revelations will mean more headaches for everyone involved. July 29, it came out that even Madoff was baffled by the Securities and Exchanges Commission's inability to sniff out his fraud. And July 30 Reuters is reporting that Joseph Cotchett, the lawyer who obtained the lengthy interview with Madoff in jail, may amend his lawsuit to possibly include several feeder fund managers. - George White

July 24: Another mini Madoff or run-of-the-mill losses?: Corey Ribotsky, a managing member of Roslyn, N.Y., hedge fund NIR Group, is under investigation as to whether he defrauded investors about their returns and the holdings of his various funds, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. - George White

The ruling comes just a day after Bernard Madoff, 71, arrived at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving his 150-year sentence for his own high crimes. Madoff was sentenced on June 29 by U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin of the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. - Carolyn Okomo

July 14: Madoff arrives at N.C. prison: Bernard L. Madoff has arrived at his new home: an eight-by-eight cell at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C.
 
The Butner complex is located about 45 miles northwest of Raleigh and includes two medium-security facilities, a low-security facility and a hospital.

It's unknown if Madoff will ultimately stay in Butner, but CNBC is reporting that the facility will be his final destination. According to the AP, the complex is best known for its hospital to treat elderly or ill prisoners. - Sara Behunek

July 9: Madoff, Dreier contemplate life behind bars: Self-confessed swindler Bernard Madoff has decided to do the time and not appeal the 150-year prison sentence he received for masterminding a global multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Elsewhere in the world of white-collar fraudsters, prosecutors announced Wednesday that they planned to seek a 145-year jail sentence for Marc Dreier, the lawyer who ripped off hedge funds and other investors to the tune of $400 million. - Donna Block

July 8: Madoff, make room for Sky Capital brokers: Move over Bernie, company's coming. Federal prosecutors charged six officials at Manhattan-based brokerage firm Sky Capital LLC Wednesday with running a $140 million fraud and manipulation scheme over the last eight years. - Donna Block

July 1: SIPC secures funds for Madoff victims: Some of Bernie Madoff's investors are getting an idea of where they stand in recouping their losses two days after the self-confessed swindler was sentenced to 150 years in prison, while some should be wondering if a subpoena is in their future.

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. announced that $231 million has been committed from its reserves to pay 543 claims by the con man's victims with another $2.74 billion authorized for potential recoveries in the future. - Donna Block

July 1: Allen Stanford to stay locked up: Accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford is going to have to get use to prison garb and grub as he awaits his trial. A federal judge revoked June 30 the $500,000 bond for the Texas billionaire accused of masterminding a $7 billion fraud. - Donna Block

June 30: Michael Imperioli to play Bernie Madoff?: We all know that the Bernard Madoff story is ripe for Hollywood's exploitation. Such a reality is evidently not lost on actor Michael Imperioli best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti from HBO's "The Sopranos," who may be working on a possible biopic about the convicted Ponzi schemer. - Matthew Wurtzel

June 29: Madoff gets the max: Judge Denny Chin threw the book at disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and Monday sentenced the self-confessed swindler to 150 years in jail.

According to televised reports, cheers and applause came from the courtroom as Madoff stood facing the judge with his hands clasped in front of him. - Donna Block

June 29: Will judge throw the book at Madoff?:  It's judgment day, quite literally, for Bernard Madoff.

The disgraced financier goes before U.S. District Judge Denny Chin June 29 to receive his prison sentence. While his lawyer has requested a fairly lenient 12 years, which might allow the 71-year-old to see the light of day again, his sentence could reach 150 years. The probation department has already told the judge that it recommends Madoff get 50 years in prison for the multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. - George White

June 26: Scandal's big week: It's been a busy week for Wall Street's biggest crooks.

Self-confessed Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, who will be sentenced on June 29, asked for leniency; after all, he's an old man. Accused swindler R. Allen Stanford was indicted on 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice. And California business man Danny Pang was found to have pulled out at least $83 million from his investment firm before it was seized. - Donna Block

June 22: Madoff alleged accomplices charged: Few believe that Bernard Madoff acted alone in building and maintaining his $65 billion scheme. Now some of that dirty laundry is getting aired. On June 22, a brokerage firm and four individuals connected to Ponzi schemer Madoff were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with securities fraud. - Donna Block

June 19: Stanford indicted on fraud: Texas billionaire and cricket enthusiast R. Allen Stanford will have to trade in his Saville Road suit for a prison jumpsuit. He was indicted  June 19 in federal court in Richmond, Va., for what prosecutors say is a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors. - Donna Block

June 16: Grassley demands answers from SEC: Sen. Charles Grassley is getting impatient with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Iowa Republican wants the agency to respond to his request for information about what steps it's taking to address the issues raised in a recent inspector general report about the personal securities transactions of three SEC enforcement officials.

The report, dated March 3, details a two-year investigation of two SEC enforcement staff attorneys who may have traded on nonpublic information or engaged in insider trading in stocks of companies under investigation by the agency. - Donna Block

June 15: Demand made for update on SEC's Madoff inquiry:  Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., the influential chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, wants some answers from the Securities and Exchange Commission as to why the agency failed to detect the $65 billion Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, and he wants them in the next two weeks. - Donna Block

June 10: Madoff circumstance worsens: The Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, which Bernard Madoff and fellow financial fraudster Marc Dreier have called home since their arrests, also became the home of Tanzanian terror suspect Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Gitmo detainee who was moved Wednesday to New York City to stand trial in federal court for the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa back in 1998. - Donna Block

June 5: Fraudsters not made for life of flight: Indiana money manager Marcus Schrenker, who is accused of trying to fake his own death by crashing his plane, is expected to plead guilty June 5 in federal court. He joins the likes of Sam Israel as a white-collar criminal who tried and failed to live life on the lam, leading Bloomberg News to explore why white-collar fraudsters are just not cut out for a life on the run. - Donna Block

June 4: Mozilo, two others charged with securities fraud: Is there a perp walk in Angelo Mozilo's future? The co-founder of Countrywide Financial Corp. was charged June 4 along with two of the firm's executives with securities fraud for deliberately misleading investors about the outsized credit risks that were taken in efforts to build and maintain the company's market share. - Donna Block

June 3: Dreier trustee widens effort to seize assets: Several former employees of a California firm affiliated with now-defunct law firm Dreier LLP will now have until June 9 to produce documents that could implicate them in an alleged plot to interfere with a trustee's efforts to seize valuable assets. - Carolyn Okomo

June 2: Schapiro looks to corporate world at SEC: Chairman Mary Schapiro said on June 2 that she wants to create the position of chief operating officer to help manage the agency and improve internal operations.

Lawmakers have been critical of the agency for failing to detect Bernard Madoff's $65 billion investment fraud. And more recently it was revealed that two agency lawyers were under investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors for possible insider trading violations. - Donna Block

May 28: Samberg's Pequot Capital shuts down: A weary Arthur J. Samberg, leader of $3 billion-plus hedge fund Pequot Capital Management Inc., is liquidating his firm amid a reopened insider trading investigation. In a letter to investors, Samberg said that "public disclosures about the continuing investigation have cast a cloud over the firm and have become a source of personal distraction." - Baz Hiralal

May 28: Pequot's troubles vindicate former SEC lawyer: News that hedge fund Pequot Capital would shut down because of a government probe is likely to resurrect the controversy that led to the firing of SEC lawyer Gary Aguirre.

Aguirre had been investigating allegations of insider trading at Pequot, which led him to request an interview with John Mack, who is now the head of Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley. - Donna Block

May 19: Madoff affiliate Fairfield Greenwich sued: On the heels of news that at least eight of Madoff's biggest investors were being investigated by the feds for what they knew about the scheme, a suit was filed May 18 by Madoff trustee Irving Picard seeking $3.2 billion from Fairfield Greenwich, the Connecticut hedge fund that sent more money Madoff's way than anyone else. - Donna Block

May 18: Madoff may have had accomplices: Investigators are reported to have found evidence that philanthropists Jeffrey Picower and Stanly Chais may have told Madoff what they expected in return for their investments and how much they expected to find in their accounts. - Donna Block

May 15: FBI puts SEC under microscope: As if the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't have enough problems, now the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating two of its attorneys over possible insider trading violations, according to an internal SEC report.

Among the suspicious activity identified, the report said a female attorney, who works in the enforcement division, sold all of her shares in a large healthcare company around two months before an investigation into the company was opened in her group. And, a male attorney under investigation by the FBI works in the Office of the SEC's Chief Counsel and "has access to a tremendous amount of nonpublic information." - Donna Block

May 13: Stanford CIO latest indicted: Chief investment officer for Stanford Financial Group, Laura Pendergest-Holt, was indicted May 12 by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. It was the first of what is expected to be several indictments to come out of a federal investigation into a suspected $8.5 billion fraud that investigators say was committed by Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford and his top executives. - Donna Block

May 12: Happy birthday, Dreier, next year in jail: New York lawyer Marc. S. Dreier is celebrating his 59th birthday May 12, a day after pleading guilty to what authorities have called a fraud scheme that separated hedge funds and other investors from at least $400 million. Since Dreier could face a life sentence for conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud, money laundering and related charges, the only thing he's likely to be celebrating is that Judge Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan has allowed him to remain in his $10 million Upper East Side apartment until sentencing July 13. - Donna Block

Of course, there are ways to vent your recession aggression, and if you'd like to Smash-A-Madoff, you can do that too ...

BERNIE MADOFF

Flashback ...

Dec. 12: Feds charge Madoff with massive Ponzi scheme: Bernard L. Madoff, a former Nasdaq Stock Market chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, may join the ranks of financial fraudsters Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken and Dennis Kozlowski if the charges of securities fraud in what federal prosecutors called a $50 billion Ponzi scheme are true. - Donna Block

Fast Forward ...

April 14: Creditors put Madoff into liquidation: April 13 didn't fall on a Friday, but it was unlucky for Bernie Madoff nonetheless. It was on that Monday that Madoff, like his lesser-known doppelganger Marc S. Dreier, was placed into Chapter 7 involuntarily by five creditors who are collectively owed more than $63 million. To date, Madoff has been charged with defrauding both high- and low-profile investors out of more than $50 billion. - Carolyn Okomo

April 8: Mets, Madoff estate to sell tickets: The New York Mets and the SIPC trustee overseeing the wind-down of Bernie Madoff's firm cut a deal to sell the fraudster's season tickets at Citi Field. - John Blakeley

April 6: Madoff haunts Merkin from jail: Bernie Madoff may be locked up in solitary confinement as he awaits sentencing, but his presence continues to be felt outside of jail nonetheless. The latest to feel Madoff's shadow is Ezra Merkin, the former GMAC Financial Services chairman. Merkin is facing two lawsuits for his involvement with Madoff. On one side is Boston Properties chairman Mort Zuckerman, and on the other is New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. - George White

April 1: Madoff accomplice: Fairfield Greenwich: Regulators are closing in on Bernie Madoff's nearest and dearest. Fairfield Greenwich Group, a Madoff feeder fund, was charged Wednesday with fraud for breaching its fiduciary duty. - Donna Block

March 31: Madoff centerpiece of scammer trading card set: Topps Co. this summer will be offering a set of trading cards it dubs the "world's biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks and bamboozles" of the last two centuries. - Gerald Magpily

March 30: Madoff unit sold for $500K: Boston-based Castor Pollux Securities is the stalking-horse bidder to buy Madoff's trading business for a steal. In fact, Madoff's Mets tickets may be more valuable. - Donna Block

March 20: Madoff is staying in jail

March 18: Madoff's auditor charged with securities fraud: Bernie Madoff's auditors were charged Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission with committing securities fraud. - Donna Block

March 12: Madoff refuses to name names: Madoff's plea deal fell apart when he refused to agree to conspiracy charges that would include others. - George White

March 10: Madoff to plead guilty Thursday

Feb. 11: Ruth Madoff caught with hand in cookie jar: The wife of the alleged fraudster, Ruth Madoff, withdrew $5.5 million on Nov. 25 and another $10 million on Dec. 10, the day before her husband's arrest. - George White

Feb. 10: Madoff in court Wednesday

Feb. 6: Loophole here, loophole there: For the little accounting firm that supposedly audited Bernard Madoff's securities outfit, it was easy to escape regulatory scrutiny. - Donna Block

Feb. 4: Madoff victim seeks unique clawback: A lawyer wants his ex to pay back the money he gave her to split the value of an account the two had with alleged fraudster Bernard Madoff. -- George White

Feb. 4: Markopolos: SEC fears Wall Street: In congressional testimony, Bernie Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos said the SEC "roars like a lion and bites like a flea." - Donna Block

Jan. 23: Distressed Investing 2009: Harvey Pitt on the implications of Madoff's scheme: Check out the video.

Jan. 13: Is a plea deal in the works for Bernie Madoff?: It appears that a fun-filled trial recounting how Bernard Madoff fooled so many investors and assumed a post atop the financial world may not happen after all. A plea deal, it seems, may be in the works. - George White

Jan. 13: Madoff investment comes back to haunt Banco Santander: Banco Santander SA is proud of the fact that it's emerged relatively unscathed from the credit crisis and has been able to strike bargain-basement deals in the U.K. in the process. But the faint whiff of smugness has smelled wrong ever since the Madrid bank revealed last month that it had €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) of clients' money invested in funds affiliated with Bernard Madoff, mastermind of an alleged $50 billion investment fraud. - Laura Board

Jan. 12: Madoff remains out on bail

Jan. 7: Legal battle looms for Madoff investors: Some redeeming investors may have to return not just profits but also principal.

Jan. 5: Prosecutor wants Madoff's bail revoked; Wall Street banks steered clear of Bernie Madoff; SEC head grilled by Congress on Madoff fraud

Dec. 15-17: Madoff advised the SEC, while duping it; European banks tally Madoff losses; Madoff leaves funds-of-funds with plenty of explaining to do; Madoff cheats at golf too

Dec. 12: Bernie Madoff and Marc Dreier top SEC's $#!& list: There's no lack of news as lawmakers are dealing with the credit market fallout and bailing out a crippled auto industry, which everyone has an opinion about. The most disheartening reports, though, come from the law having to deal with individuals that have stolen billion of dollars from investors, and two men are atop their list of priorities: Bernie Madoff and Marc Dreier. - Baz Hiralal

LEHMAN BROTHERS, AIG

March 18: N.J. adds to Lehman litigation load: The Garden State sued a group of former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. executives and directors, alleging that fraud and misleading public statements caused N.J.'s public pension fund to lose at least $118 million. - John Blakeley

March 6: Sinner circle: Leo Strine allows American International Group Inc. shareholders to sue Hank Greenberg and his underlings but lets PricewaterhouseCoopers off the hook. - David Marcus

SATYAM

Jan.23: Satyam's search for truth: Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services Ltd. finds itself with cooked books and new government bosses. Now what? - Matt Miller

April 13: Relief for Satyam; Tech Mahindra is highest bidder

April 2: BofA hiring Satyam staffers by hundreds?

March 27: Spice Group drops out of race for fraudulent Satyam

March 6: Fraud-hit Satyam approved for 51% sale, shares rise

Feb. 19: Fraud-hit Satyam cleared for auction

Jan. 9: Enron went bankrupt, but what of Satyam's future?; Jan. 15: Enron? Maybe Satyam is more like WorldCom; Jan. 7: What does Satyam fraud mean for FDI in India?

MARC DREIER

April 28: Dreier will plead guilty: There will be no plea bargain for Marc S. Dreier, the New York law firm founder accused of defrauding hedge funds out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Dreier will plead guilty to federal charges including conspiracy and wire fraud next month. - Donna Block

May 6: The Dreier disclosures deadline set; April 1: Dreier phoenix to merge with Fox Rothschild; March 24: A hot summer awaits Marc Dreier

Jan. 27: More courtrooms for Dreier: The legal problems for Marc S. Dreier, the embattled founder and former managing partner of law firm Dreier LLP, continue to mount. First, it was criminal charges. Now you can add bankruptcy issues, too. - Carolyn Okomo

Jan. 7: A phoenix rises from Dreier LLP's ashes: It looks like there just may be life after the collapse of law firm Dreier LLP. As the firm continues to crumble in Chapter 11 under the weight of fraud charges lodged against its founder and managing partner, some associated with the firm are now seizing the opportunity to break out from the firm's mired shadow. - Carolyn Okomo

PENSION PAY-FOR-PLAY

May 1: Placement test: After years of allegations, the lid has finally blown off New York's pension pay-for-play system. Whether any real reform will take place is another matter. - Vyvyan Tenorio

April 30: Aldus' founder Meyer charged in 'pay to play': Private equity firm Aldus Equity Partners LP and its founder Saul Meyer were charged April 30 by the Securities and Exchange Commission with participating in a multimillion-dollar "pay to play" scheme involving New York's largest pension fund. In an amended complaint attached to a motion filed in federal district court in Manhattan, the SEC alleges that Meyer and Aldus participated in a fraudulent kickback scheme in order to win investment business from the $122 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund.

The SEC previously charged Henry "Hank" Morris and David Loglisci for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to enrich Morris and other political allies and associates including former New York Liberal party chief Raymond Harding and ex-hedge fund executive Barrett Wissman, who have also been charged in the case. - Donna Block

April 17: What fallout from Rattner's involvement in N.Y. inquiry?: Steve Rattner, face of the Obama administration's auto task force, is under scrutiny in an investigation by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission into placement fees paid to middlemen by investment firms seeking capital from New York's $122 billion pension fund. Rattner, who co-founded private equity firm Quadrangle Partners LLC, isn't accused of wrongdoing, and a Treasury spokesperson told The Washington Post and other news organizations it was aware of the inquiry when Rattner got his job on the task force. - Kenneth Klee

BARRETT WISSMAN

April 16: Wissman, Pang join growing list of frauds: While Bernie Madoff, Arthur Nadel and Marc Dreier compare the cut of their prison jumpsuits, and R. Allen Stanford sheds tears on television, the ranks of schemers and dreamers are not only getting wider but wilder. Barrett Wissman, a hedge fund executive, may soon be sending some of his compatriots to join the others at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility after pleading guilty to securities fraud as part of an investigation of corruption at New York's $122 billion pension fund, state officials said April 15. - Donna Block

REGULATION: WHISTLEBLOWERS, SWAT TEAMS AND MORE

May 7: GAO report criticizes SEC under Cox: Even before Bernie Madoff was the news topic du jour, the Securities and Exchange Commission was riddled with internal conflicts, according to a government watchdog report. - Donna Block

April 29: SEC may form SWAT teams: Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, reportedly is working on plans to set up teams of specialists who will focus on specific kinds of wrongdoing. - Donna Block

April 21: Watchdog warns of TARP abuse: The Treasury Department's plan to buy up toxic assets from banks' balance sheets is vulnerable to fraud and should not proceed without tough rules against conflicts of interest, the government's bailout watchdog said Tuesday. (See more in Pipeline)

April 17: Schapiro brings change to SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro gave her first television interview since taking the helm of the agency to PBS' "Nightly Business Report." Schapiro told correspondent Stephanie Dhue that change is coming to the agency. - Donna Block

April 1: TARP cop starts cracking down: Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the troubled assets relief program, tells the Senate there's only $109 billion left in TARP and his office has a dozen investigations into fraud. - George White

March 18: TARP trap: TARP recipients should be wary of exposing themselves to liability under the False Claims Act.

Feb. 20: Deutsche's Khuzami to be SEC enforcement chief: The former prosecutor, who put away Patrick Bennett for a $1 billion Ponzi scheme in the 1990s, will oversee the SEC's division of enforcement. - Baz Hiralal

Feb. 17: True colors: A simple solution would bring transparency to the hedge fund industry.

Feb. 6: Mary Schapiro: SEC 'to act like our hair is on fire': Mary Schapiro, the new head of the SEC, is taking steps to beef up regulation over Wall Street institutions and uncover Ponzi schemes quickly. - Maria Woehr

Jan. 23: Board to distraction: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has made an unintended contribution to the current economic crisis.

Jan. 5: Madoff may force the SEC to re-evaluate enforcement unit: While alleged fraudster Bernard L. Madoff was pleading with a judge in New York not to revoke his bail Jan. 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission was feeling the wrath of Capitol Hill lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee, which was holding hearings in to the failure of government regulators to identify and stop Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. -- Donna Block

Dec. 17: Cox attempts damage control in light of Madoff scandal; Congress jumps all over Madoff scandal; Politicians get sucked into Madoff case

R. ALLEN STANFORD, ARTHUR NADEL

May 1: Nadel tries to get out of jail; Stanford tries to get in: While Florida hedge fund manager Arthur Nadel tried to get his bail reduced April 30 so he can get out of jail, R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire accused of running an $8 billion investment fraud, tried unsuccessfully to get into jail. Stanford, who is facing civil fraud charges, turned up at the federal courthouse in Houston April 30 and tried to surrender himself in an apparent show of defiance. Stanford is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission along with two employees, on allegations they ran a "massive ongoing fraud" through the sale of high-yield certificates of deposit using Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. Stanford denies any wrongdoing and hasn't been charged with a crime.

Meanwhile, Nadel pleaded not guilty on April 30 to an indictment of running a $360 million investment fraud, and his lawyer asked a judge to ease the conditions for him to make bail. Prosecutors say Nadel went on the run for two weeks in January before his arrest on initial charges, but his lawyer said he is in poor health and not a flight risk. Nadel has been dubbed "mini-Madoff" as his funds enriched him and defrauded 350 clients who invested more than $360 million, the government said. The judge scheduled a hearing for June 4 to hear arguments over the previously set conditions of $5 million bail, which Nadel, who is 76, has been unable to meet. - Donna Block

April 28: Latest fraudster Nadel indicted

April 21: Stanford swears there was no fraud: Accused of perpetrating a Ponzi scheme, Allen Stanford again takes to the media to claim it is not true. - Donna Block

March 27: Allen Stanford hires famed attorney DeGuerin

March 11: Stanford blows off SEC

Feb. 27: Stanford employees go unpaid; Stanford associate nabbed

Feb. 20: Stanford owns four homes, six jets: Allen Stanford lived it up on the backs of the people he defrauded, amassing four homes, six jets and maybe even a private Caribbean island. - Donna Block

Feb. 20: Stanford gets served: A nationwide search for Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford ended Thursday. He was then served with papers accusing him of an $8 billion fraud. - Donna Block

Feb. 18: Stanford, Madoff gave lots of dosh to politicians: Robert Allen Stanford, the billionaire accused of "massive fraud," and Bernard Madoff, who allegedly ran the largest Ponzi scheme ever, opened their wallets for political contributions. - Donna Block

So then ... Pols give up fraudster's money.

Feb. 17: SEC shuts down another possible fraud: The Securities and Exchange Commission acted to end an $8 billion "massive ongoing fraud," allegedly perpetrated by Robert Allen Stanford. - Donna Block

Jan. 27: FBI catches another schemer on the lam: Nowhere to run. So Arthur Nadel, the Florida hedge fund adviser who disappeared in mid-January, turned himself in to authorities Jan. 27. He was charged with defrauding investors of tens of millions of dollars. -- Donna Block

Jan. 20: Another mini-Madoff surfaces

NIGERIAN E-MAIL SCAM?

Feb. 23: Citi falls for the Nigerian e-mail scam: In a twist on the swindle, a Nigerian man gets Citigroup Inc. to wire him and his associates $27 million. - George White

DANNY PANG

April 29: PEMGroup's Pang arrested by FBI: Danny Pang, the California-based financier accused by federal regulators of defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars, was arrested April 28 by the FBI on charges he withdrew about $360,000 from a company account through a bevy of small transactions so he wouldn't have to make reports to federal regulators. - Donna Block

April 28: SEC charges Pang

TOM PETTERS

April 22: Petters' Polaroid Ponzi scheme: Minnesota businessman Tom Petters is accused of using the now bankrupt Polaroid brand to run a massive Ponzi scheme. - Donna Block

LAWRENCE SALANDER: ART DEALER TO JOHN MCENROE

March 26: Art dealer to John McEnroe arrested: Tennis star-turned-broadcaster John McEnroe was duped along with investment firms, art owners and the Bank of America Corp. in a sophisticated $88 million art investment scam, officials said. - Mary Kathleen Flynn

AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

Feb. 4: McGladrey again accused of fraud: Accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen is again at the center of a fraud lawsuit. - John Blakeley

Jan. 27: Yet another alleged Ponzi scheme: The list of alleged Ponzi scheme operators is really starting to add up. The latest came Jan. 26 as authorities arrested Nicholas Cosmo, the head of Agape World Inc., on charges that his firm wasn't providing commercial bridge loans with its $400 million in capital, but was instead only paying off early investors with money from the new ones. - George White

Jan. 16: At Pharmed, brothers in arms and in fraud: The founders of bankrupt medical supply distributor Pharmed Group Holdings Inc., brothers Carlos and Jorge de Cespedes, will go to jail for nine years, a U.S. District Court judge in Florida has ruled. - Jamie Mason

Jan. 14: Three fraudsters: One arrested, one on the lam, one under the weather: Alleged financial schemers Marcus Schrenker, the financial adviser accused of defrauding investors through three of his companies, and Robert Jaffe, a Bernard Madoff associate, have both been found, but  Raoul Weil, a former UBS employee accused of facilitating tax evasion, remains on the lam. - Donna Block

Jan. 13: Massachusetts accuses Reserve of fraud: Another day, another accusation of fraud. The latest case involves money market pioneer Reserve Management Co., which Massachusetts' top securities regulator has charged with making false statements concerning its Primary Fund that melted down after infamously "breaking the buck" late last year. - Donna Block

Jan. 8: More Ponzi scheme headaches for the SEC: Call it Madoff-lite. Even though it missed that really big alleged scam with Bernie Madoff, the Securities and Exchange Commission is still on the lookout for fraudsters and appears to have caught one in Philadelphia-area fund manager Joseph Forte. The agency charged Forte with operating a $50 million Ponzi scheme and obtained an emergency court order freezing his assets. - George White

Dec. 30: SEC busts up a Ponzi scheme: The SEC may have been slow to pick up on Bernie Madoff's massive swindle, but it hasn't been entirely remiss on the fraud beat. The comission says it has stomped out another alleged Ponzi scheme, one that collected around $23 million from thousands of investors in Florida's Haitian-American community. - Maria Woehr

Dec. 16: Lampoon's Laikin not laughing at fraud charges: Conspiracy and securities fraud charges were filed for four separate schemes designed to artificially inflate the prices of publicly traded stocks. Among those charged is Daniel Laikin, CEO of National Lampoon Inc. - Baz Hiralal

Dec. 15: Did the banks perpetrate a Ponzi scheme?: The media has accepted Bernard Madoff's reported admission that his $50 billion Ponzi scheme is the largest in history, but Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, disagrees. The financial consultant argues the U.S. banking industry in fact pulled off a far larger fraud. - Matthew Wurtzel

Dec. 12: Deal deviants: The bull market returns -- in fraud.