So...for those of you saying "benefitting from a financial collapse is not illegal" I present to you Magnetar Capital.
Yes, folks that's right, some asshole named their hedge fund after the magnetic field caused by a collapsing star. If someone were to name their company Human Piles of Shit Inc. it could not be any more obvious that this company was founded in order to cause harm.
What they did was to buy up CDOs and then short the positions during the height of the bubble. So if, when the bubble was waning, a $90 million CDO needed an extra $10 million to come to offer on the market they would take that position. Then they would turn around and short the position to 20x. Classic pump and dump with the original long position clearly made in bad faith.
And if you think I'm kidding:
The hedge fund Magnetar helped create billions of dollars’ worth of risky deals called collateralized debt obligations, many of which failed spectacularly in the financial crisis. Magnetar, meanwhile, had taken positions that allowed the firm to profit when many of those same CDOs collapsed.
The founders Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser still run the fund and are worth millions and millions of dollars. How many lives did these people ruin? They literally killed people from suicide, depression, economic ruination. If there is a hell I hope they burn in it.
EDIT: And yes, offering a contract in bad faith is illegal.
Yes, folks that's right, some asshole named their hedge fund after the magnetic field caused by a collapsing star. If someone were to name their company Human Piles of Shit Inc. it could not be any more obvious that this company was founded in order to cause harm.
What they did was to buy up CDOs and then short the positions during the height of the bubble. So if, when the bubble was waning, a $90 million CDO needed an extra $10 million to come to offer on the market they would take that position. Then they would turn around and short the position to 20x. Classic pump and dump with the original long position clearly made in bad faith.
And if you think I'm kidding:
The hedge fund Magnetar helped create billions of dollars’ worth of risky deals called collateralized debt obligations, many of which failed spectacularly in the financial crisis. Magnetar, meanwhile, had taken positions that allowed the firm to profit when many of those same CDOs collapsed.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/17/magnetar-roundup-h...
More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar_Capital
The founders Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser still run the fund and are worth millions and millions of dollars. How many lives did these people ruin? They literally killed people from suicide, depression, economic ruination. If there is a hell I hope they burn in it.
EDIT: And yes, offering a contract in bad faith is illegal.